Source: Ahmet Yalçınkaya
If you tuned into the Golden Globes, or saw one of the many social media posts about it, you probably noticed something was a little different this year. Most of those who attended the ceremony decided to wear black and/or wear a “Time’s Up” pin as a show of protest against the different forms of abuse women go through in the workplace. Unfortunately, many of those who wore black appeared to be willfully blind to the insincerity of their actions.
It seems that many of those in attendance only wore black to avoid scrutiny instead of actually believing and supporting in the movement. For example, when David Harbour of Stranger Things was asked what “Time’s Up” meant to him in a red carpet interview, he couldn’t answer. His embarrassing response really was the epitome of how seriously many of the celebs, especially the men, are taking this movement.
Emma Stone, Timothée Chalamet, Ewan McGregor, Justin Timberlake, and Steve Carell have all worked with Woody Allen (some more than once), and as of yet, haven’t tried to atone for it. Yet, they all showed up to the Golden Globes claiming they supported women. That’s not all! Natalie Portman (who was praised for calling out the lack of female nominees in the best director category), supports child rapist Roman Polanski, as does Meryl Streep.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. Gary Oldman and Christian Slater both wore “Time’s Up” pins despite being known abusers. Then there’s Armie Hammer, who has vocally supported rapist director Nate Parker and apologized for calling out sexual assaulter Casey Affleck. How about James Franco, who tried to pick up an 17-year-old girl and is now being accused of sexual misconduct by five other women? And of course there’s Lena Dunham (who wore black to a Golden Globe after party), who attacked a rape victim because they accused her friend, and then went to a Time’s Up photo-op but had never been to a meeting before or donated any money to the cause. But possibly the greatest irony of all? Kirk Douglas receiving a standing ovation while being honoured by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association even though he’s a known sexist who (allegedly) raped a fourteen-year-old Natalie Wood.
It’s plain to see that Hollywood thinks the #TimesUp movement is more of a joke or passing fad than anything else. If we ever want to fix what’s broken, we as the consumers need to support the victims and hold the people of Hollywood accountable. If you’d like to donate to the cause, check out Time’s Up GoFundMe. It’s time this systemic abuse ends, on all levels.