Time’s up movement at the Golden Globes

CAIRO – 8 January 2018: The 75th Golden Globe Awards was dominated by the undercurrent of a mass objection to the sexual harassment that has been rife in Hollywood, and that has recently come to light. Throughout nomination announcements and acceptance speeches, comments were constantly made about the gender inequality in the industry and the need for institutional change.


Actresses and actors wear black in solidarity with the Time’s up movement/ Via REUTERS/Paul Drinkwater

1. Both actresses and actors opted to wear black on the red carpet – as opposed to the usual rainbow of gowns and tuxedos – in solidarity with the Time’s Up campaign, which aims to fight sexual harassment in the work place.


Actresses and actors wear black in solidarity with the Time’s Up movement/ Via REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

2. Many figures spoke about the need for gender equality. Natalie Portman drew attention to the all-male list of nominees for Best Director, despite the presence of excellent female choices for the award this year. Laura Dern took advantage of her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series to say, “Many of us were taught not to tattle. It was a culture of silencing, and that was normalized... May we teach our children that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture’s new North Star.” Oprah Winfrey, who was the first black woman to be awarded the Cecil B. de Mille award, promised, “A new day is on the horizon!”


Host, Seth Meyers, addressed the sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood/ Via REUTERS/Paul Drinkwater

3.The actors have been building support for this movement for the past few weeks on social media via Instagram and Twitter posts, promoting the hashtags #MeToo, #WhyWeWearBlack and #TimesUp. Host, Seth Meyers, did not shy away from the elephant in the room either. He addressed the Harvey Weinstein scandal and jabbed at other alleged harassers in Hollywood. Oprah Winfrey ended her acceptance speech with a resounding statement that summarizes the mood of the night, "For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up!"