The Time’s Up movement took center stage at the 2018 Golden Globes on Sunday evening, in a showing of solidarity and outpouring of support for women’s rights and the #MeToo social media campaign.
From Seth Meyers’ opening monologue to the number of guests who wore black in solidarity with the women who have experienced sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry, Hollywood’s elite didn’t shy away from addressing the ongoing scandals.
“Happy New Year Hollywood. It’s 2018, marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t,” Meyers said.
Oprah Winfrey brought the crowd to its feet when she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
“I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon,” Winfrey said. “And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me Too’ again.”
Critics spoke out against the choice to have the NBC late night host serve as the award show’s emcee, arguing a female host would have been more appropriate in light of the sex scandals. Meyers, however, fully addressed the controversy during his 13-minute opening monologue.
“If it’s any consolation, I’m a man with absolutely no power in Hollywood. I’m not even the most powerful Seth in the room,” he said as the camera cut to actor Seth Rogen.
Meyers directly took on Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey, Woody Allen and Harvey Weinstein with blunt one-liners, including one where he said Weinstein would only be back to the Golden Globes during an in memoriam portion.
He then took a page from his show with a “jokes Seth can’t tell” portion of the monologue where he set up jokes and let the likes of Jessica Chastain, Billy Eichner, Issa Rae and Hong Chau deliver the punchlines. However, when he got to his former “SNL” castmate Amy Poehler, she decided to one-up Meyers and utter her part of the joke solo.
“I’m a woman in Hollywood. I’ve been through enough. I don’t need a man to set up my work,” she said.
While other celebrities didn’t have as much time as Meyers to offer similar words of encouragement, they let their outfits do the talking. Both women and men came dressed in black as a silent protest against sexual harassment. Stars like Gal Gadot, Saoirse Ronan and Dwayne Johnson, all sported dark attire and have spoken out against the growing amount of harassment on the red carpet.
“It’s wonderful . . . I totally think that’s what we should always do. We should all wear black always for the value of it,” Gadot said during a red carpet interview.
One of the biggest shows of force in the black dress and suit campaign came from “Today” hosts Sheinelle Jones, Natalie Morales, Al Roker and Carson Daly.
Last week, the morning news program hired Hoda Kotb to replace Matt Lauer as a co-host, following Lauer’s termination after a string of sexual harassment and abuse cases were revealed.
Other celebrities used their fashion accessories to make a statement against the abusive Hollywood patriarchy. A number of guests wore pins for the Time’s Up initiative that raises awareness for sexual harassment and provides legal help for women looking to protect themselves.
The initiative has the support of several actors including Ashley Judd, Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Natalie Portman and Kerry Washington.
But for some Globes guests, their strongest statement was not what they wore, but who they brought to the show.
Michelle Williams, Emma Watson, Poehler and others arrived with prominent women’s rights activists as their guests. #MeToo founder Tarana Burke accompanied Williams, Marai Larasi, an executive director of the nonprofit Imkaan, came with Watson, and advocate Saru Jayaraman was Poehler’s plus one.
“Women in Hollywood have an opportunity to amplify the issue,” Larasi said during a red carpet interview. “This is a fantastic platform and we are trying to use it the best way we can.”
