As 2017 entered its final weeks and think piece after think piece laid bare the tectonic shift happening Hollywood—and many other industries—post-Harvey Weinstein, the attention of many turned to the first week of January, which marks the start of awards season, kicked off by Sunday’s Golden Globes.
What would Hollywood’s most flashbulb-saturated season be like this year? And more importantly, how would the industry step up? By mid-December, reports circulated that actresses would wear black on the Golden Globes red carpet, in solidarity with women who had come forward about harassment allegations. But would that be it?
This week, we got our answer with Time’s Up, an ambitious and thoughtful initiative piloted by 300 powerful women in Hollywood with the goal to end “systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace”—whether that workplace is Hollywood or the agriculture industry. Since its official launch on January 1, many of the women who helped develop the initiative—from Eva Longoria and Shonda Rimes to America Ferrera and Reese Witherspoon—have spoken up about the importance of using moments like the Golden Globes as an opportunity to show solidarity, whether by wearing black or speaking out about harassment on the red carpet.
But how will the award season overall be shaped by this issue? And is wearing black enough? We spoke on the phone with some of the founding members of Time’s Up—Amber Tamblyn, Tessa Thompson, and Uzo Aduba—about what wearing black means to them this Sunday, as well as the change they each want to see in their industry, on the Friday before the Golden Globes.
To hear Tamblyn tell it, after Sunday might, we’ll all feel differently about award shows—and in a good way. “This can effect real change and this can shift something. This is going to be the first time in my entire life that I’ve ever been excited to watch a red carpet.”
GLAMOUR: One of the words that comes up in talking about Time’s Up is ‘community.’ Is that something you all feel has been lacking in Hollywood and the entertainment industry before this?
AMBER TAMBLYN: I’ve known Tessa from way back in the day, but Uzo I’ve never known, and I would say 90 percent of the women that are part of the movement I’ve never met before. So we were definitely brought together through a goal of wanting it to feel like a better community that represents all women—not just white women, which is often what most communities represent. For us in this movement, Time’s Up, it was very important to make sure that LGBTQ women are being represented, women of color, women with disabilities, so that it felt more like what a real community would feel like. In this larger conversation of talking the talk—of saying we want parity, of saying we want equality, of saying we want better representation—we therefore then also have to walk the walk, which is why Time’s Up is made up of so many types of women across industry lines. We really want this to be a representative community that looks like the world that we live in.
GLAMOUR: So this has been a way for you guys to make contact with each other in ways you haven’t before?
UZO ADUBA: Absolutely. I think that’s what’s really exciting about Time’s Up is the connectedness of this community; that this opportunity has brought so many women from across not just our industry. We’re seeing the alignment and the solidarity that exists between every industry be it this farmer’s union, nurses, teachers, people in entertainment, lawyers.
AT: The black dress is just one gesture; there’s going to be a lot going on. Our hope is that we can take something like our bodies, which have been used as objects, as specific types of ornaments, throughout history—certainly in fashion—and suddenly be able to say, in a singular moment, that we don’t belong to anybody anymore. The choice that we’re making about our futures, and the futures of the other women that we stand next to, is that we don’t tolerate abuse anymore. We just don’t tolerate it. We’re not asking for permission to change things, we’re just changing them and everybody has to come along with us.
GLAMOUR: The wearing black thing did get some initial blowback, with some people saying that instead of wearing black you could skip the carpet completely, for example. I do think the initiative itself, once it was unveiled on January 1, quieted some of those voices because Time’s Up feels bigger than wearing black.
AT: I think it’s really important to support anybody in whatever gesture they want to make that moves us toward change—however small, however big, however radical, however non-radical, no matter what. What people are doing collectively to change the narrative and to change the way women are treated and the power dynamic is important. None of it should be dismissed and all of it is powerful.
“The black dress is just one gesture. Our
hope is that we can take
something like our bodies, which have
been used as objects, as specific
types of ornaments, and suddenly be
able to say, in a singular moment, that
we don’t belong to anybody anymore.”
—Amber Tamblyn
TESSA THOMPSON: I know one of the critiques, for example, was, Why don’t you boycott it? Well, the truth is we’re not making any specific demands to the H.F.P.A. (the organization that votes on the awards). To me, it makes sense to boycott an organization if they’re not complying with something that you’re asking for. We’re making wider demands to the industry, to all industries, and to create a culture in Hollywood that is safe for all people, not just women, right? And I think then in the spirit of that it makes sense to actually engage, to lean in, to use this moment both on the red carpet and on the stage to amplify this idea of real change. That, to me, is why this moment at the Globes is indeed really powerful and has the capability to reach all kinds of people. It’s a time to take the microphone that you’ve been given and to use it in a new and exciting way.
GLAMOUR: Is the plan also to extend this and other activations like this through award season?
UA: Right now, we have our focus on the Golden Globes: the action of showing up, taking the carpet, and having the opportunity, as Tessa said, to use our voices … I think we’re just taking it day by day and step by step.
TT: The SAG awards announced that they would have all female presenters this year and there’s been direct involvement with some women from Time’s Up with SAG not just about that but as a union to take that power and to figure out how SAG is a part of making all people under their union safe. That’s a conversation that will go well into awards season with them and beyond it. I think everyone feels really excited by this and the truth is the work will continue—the work of Time’s Up, the bigger initiatives that are happening around gender parity, around 50/50 by 2020, that work continues.
AT: To piggyback on that, this isn’t a moment this is a movement. It’s not here to be here for just a minute of anyone’s time, it’s going to be the new reality, as Tessa just said. This is the way things are going to be from now on.
GLAMOUR: Well good, I’m glad. I often cover events and later realize that the majority of people only know what they see on TV—like people who watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and then think that every fashion show is an hour long and includes musical guests, which is not true. Similarly, most people at home never go to a red carpet—they don’t go to the Oscars, they don’t go to the Golden Globes—so what they see on TV just looks like a fun party. The award season just looks like a fun party. But for you, what is the red carpet really like?
AT: I wouldn’t call it a burden, but at some point I do feel like everything falls on women to look a certain way and represent something that may not necessarily belong to them—an attitude, a look, a certain weight—on red carpets. So while it looks like a big party, it’s also like a lot of work for women and we’ve had to carry that for a very, very long time. The Golden Globes red carpet is the biggest red carpet in the United States. It’s over a mile long, and it takes hours to go down it. Often, you’re not really being asked substantive questions—it’s only about what you’re wearing and maybe it’s about the thing you’re promoting but there’s nothing else that you’re really talking about. This is why we believe that Sunday will effect a lot of change with regards to that, shifting the narrative towards making sure that when we are talking, that talk is translating to direct action, that we’re not just sharing non-substantive stories to answer a non-substantive question. That we’re actually engaging in real conversation, even at something as superfluous as an awards show.
UO: I think that’s been the artists responsibility since the beginning of time, hasn’t it? When you think of the Galileos and the artists of various eras of history, you know they were the first people to be silenced. The first people to be shut down are the artists because their art speaks to the community, they speak to the world. Now that we’re living in this modern era and this is the age of television, the age of red carpets, I think the stage has changed but the intentions of the artist hasn’t. I think artists traditionally have always had a voice and this weekend isn’t necessarily exceptional in that way. I think what’s exceptional is that so many have found a way to come together to unite in a singular voice, and that’s powerful.
AT: I’d be remiss, too, if I didn’t speak to one other factor, which is sort of the elephant in the room. A lot of this movement is happening because of the incredibly brave women who came forward and told their stories publicly. This would not have been possible without them. Those people include Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd, Lupita Nyong’o, Olivia Munn, Annabella [Sciorra], Mira Sorvino. These women put their necks on the line, put their livelihood out on the line, to create massive change and it’s not lost on me that the award show we’re choosing to do this at is an award show that really was sort of funded and fully supported by Harvey Weinstein. We’re taking that back, taking it away from him, and saying that this doesn’t belong to you anymore—that we are protective of these women and we support them. We stand next to them, no harm will come to them, and their livelihood means everything to us. It’s really important that this message gets across because all of these women are a part of the movement as well and we all will stand with each other. We know what it cost them to come forward. So for me, part of the real joy of participating in the wearing of black, I ask myself, Why am I wearing black? For me, it has so much to do with sending a direct message to the Hollywood Foreign Press and to the Golden Globes, saying we know who this award show used to belong to and it doesn’t belong to him anymore. We’re taking over the narrative of our bodies and our rights and our livelihood.
GLAMOUR: I’m clapping for you from here in my small office.
TT: I know it’s more detailed than this, but I’m also like, is this just the funeral for the patriarchy?
“It’s not lost on me that the award show we’re choosing to do this at
is an award show that really was sort of funded and fully supported by
Harvey Weinstein. We’re taking that back, taking it away from him, and
saying that this doesn’t belong to you anymore.” —Amber Tamblyn
GLAMOUR: The question is what we get to wear next year when it’s the matriarchy. Like just whatever? I’m ready. Circling back to what Uzo said about artists, I know that one of the main points that Time’s Up really addresses is inequality broadly, which we all acknowledge is one of the major areas from which harassment stems. Harassment is about power. And I know that there’s this other narrative at work here, which is that women are far less visible than men in terms of overall award show kudos—at the Golden Globes, for example, there’s been a lot of buzz about the lack of female directing nominees this year, and in general. Have you guys talked about this in your conversations also?
AT: Oh absolutely. Not only are there no women in directing categories, there’s also almost zero women of color and certainly no Latina women. The disparity is so deep and so obvious when you look at it, so why are huge amounts of women being left out of the creative conversation, constantly? So yes, it’s a big conversation for us.
TT: One of the things that’s so exciting to me is to talk about that, to use this cultural moment as an opportunity to talk about inequality and real, true, inclusivity—I hate the “d” word, “diversity.” I have [been talking] with Stacy Smith at [USC] Annenberg about how we make inclusivity contractual. How do we either collectively bargain to have true inclusivity—not just in front of the lens but in terms of crew—and how do you make that something that is actually contractual. How do you speak to SAG, for example, and say, okay, how do we incentivize real inclusivity on a set, both in front of a camera and behind it? I just feel a real, tremendous amount of gratitude to the women that have made this real time possible.
GLAMOUR: Listening to you all talk, I really do believe—and I keep thinking back to an interview I did with Gretchen Carlson—that all of these issues are industry-agnostic: trying to find ways to incentivize people to put women in leadership positions and/or to make sure that there’s equality and show that there’s a meaningful result. That it isn’t just because it’s the right thing to do, that you can show meaningful results, both in terms of healthier workplaces and more successful companies.
AT: And by the way, it’s statistically proven that when you have more women in positions of power in the workplace, sexual assault and violence and abuse goes down. There’s statistics behind that, so it’s more than just representation. And putting women in all positions—at top levels or even lower levels—are ways to balance it out so that our bodies are not always at stake.
UO: I think another thing that’s important is that solidarity extends beyond just women to people of color; gender representation … I know, that working on Orange [is the New Black], for example, you see Laverne [Cox] out front, and that changes the minds of people to see someone who is trans. When you see more people like that represented in various outlets—not just entertainment, but as one of your nurses, as one of your teachers, as one of your lawyers. It changes the way in which you encounter that person and engage with that person and imagine that person in your mind.
“Time’s Up didn’t exist until Time’s Up existed—until a group of women
got in a room and made it exist. I think,
oftentimes, we’re in the space of
waiting for someone to come in
and save [something]. Start it.
Do it, and others will follow. You
might be the one you’ve been
looking for.” —Uzo Aduba
GLAMOUR: So here is a logistical question. Other than donating to Time’s Up, what’s the clearest action that you would want our readers to take, or people watching the awards to take? Is it just conversation, or are there other tactical things you think they should undertake?
AT: I would say, look at the communities around you and see what’s missing. What is the action that’s missing? What is the conversation that’s missing? What is the role that you can take as leadership in order to change the way things are?
UO: I would agree with that. Time’s Up didn’t exist until Time’s Up existed—until a group of women got in a room and made it exist. I think, oftentimes, we’re in the space of waiting for someone to come in and save [something]. Start it. Do it, and others will follow. You might be the one you’ve been looking for. I think Amber is right, looking within your own community, being interested in changing the world around you, in fact, changes the world. And stepping up to do that can make all the difference. I would also say that … I think we live in a time of action through social media, and that has been a great tool for raising awareness, but I think we’ve now turned the page to a new chapter where action is needed. It’s not enough to tweet, re-tweet, post, share—we’re living in a time of the doing.
TT: In the last couple of weeks, to Uzo’s point … I’ve never had so many apps and ways of communicating as I do now because of this Time’s Up movement, and now I’m like, Oh, my phone has a point. Literally for the first time in my adult life, I’m using apps, I’m using technology, I’m using social media in a way that I understand how it’s vital, how it connects us. I marvel at people who started movements that were part of real change back before we had access to each other in the way that we do now. And now we have so much at our disposal! And because of all of the work that we’re doing, I’m like, I see the point of this now. My phone feels powerful in my hands in a new way.
GLAMOUR: Some folks who don’t work in my industry have said to me, “With Weinstein and all the things that have happened, I just don’t think award season can be fun. There’s no room for fun here.” And it’s been interesting talking to you guys—the word I kept coming back to in my mind was ‘joy,’ which something I often think about, making room for joy. Despite the fact that all of the topics we’re addressing here are obviously very heavy, all of you seem to be in very good spirits. And there seems to be this real sense of community, which I know is something you’ve talked about. Can you talk about this sense of delight or the possibility for delight in this moment?
AT: To complement what Tessa just said about understanding what [her] phone is for, that now it serves a purpose: After Sunday, you’ll all be feeling that same way about an awards show. Like, Oh, this actually serves a purpose now. This doesn’t have to be one level, this can be multiple levels. This can effect real change and this can shift something. To that end, I think … Look, this is going to be the first time in my entire life that I’ve ever been excited to watch a red carpet.
“After Sunday, you’ll all be feeling
[differently] about an awards show.
Like, Oh, this actually serves a
purpose now. Look, this is
going to be the first time in my
entire life that I’ve ever been excited
to watch a red carpet.” —Amber Tamblyn
TT: I’m embarrassed because I like to watch! I really like dresses and stuff, so I don’t mind it. I sometimes find the red carpet terrifying or boring—and I occasionally find it fun. If you’ve made a project and you’re really excited and you’ve made good friends in the process, it does feel silly and stupid to parade around, but there’s sort of joy in that…I think this really has been a unification in terms of a lot of people that either, like in the case of Amber and I, have known each other for years but haven’t had the chance to really talk or be in each other’s company in so long, or new people that have never met, or people that have always admired each other from afar or shared one dance at an event and then never spoke again. Now there’s the time to really feel a real connection to those people and get to know them in a new way, and celebrate. I think there’s so much room for celebration in this. And with the promise of change—real change, lasting change—so ripe, how can we not want to celebrate?
UO: Absolutely. A word you used, Laurel, was ‘joy,’ and like, I latched onto that word. I was talking to my best friend on New Year’s Day, and she said, “How do you feel?” And I said, “I feel joyful.” I have felt happy, but I don’t know when last I felt joyful. And it’s because of this. The real truth is, I work on a show with incredible women and I love those girls. And I’ve known them now for six years. But outside of that group, meeting another wise group of women? That hasn’t happened for me since I was running track in college, to be honest with you. And to know that this community has always existed, we just never knew how to necessarily tap into it, collectively. So often a lot of us are the only [women] there, on the job. So you don’t get to have the 10 other girls that you love around you all the time. And to be around women that are excited to have a lasting effect on the world—or try to, at least, put our best hat in the ring—and who are interested in who we are as a country and what we stand for is really exciting for me. And I think that joy will show on Sunday because everyone is excited. It doesn’t feel like a dark, dingy basement. Or at least that’s not my experience. My experience feels like, these are women that are coming together to try and change something. And change always feels good.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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