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'Me Too' Movement, Time's Up Takes Center Stage at Golden Globes

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Both film and television stars flocked to Hollywood for the Golden Globes Sunday, but it was Time’s Up and the “me too” movement that took most of the spotlight.

Seth Meyers, the host of the Golden Globes, wasted no time mentioning sexual assault and harassment. “It’s 2018. Marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t,” he said in his opening monologue.

While Meyers didn’t stray away from talking about the change in —and outside of — Hollywood, he was one of the only men at the show to mention it. Many of the women who accepted awards used their platform to speak to the power of women’s stories and praise women in Hollywood and beyond.

Elisabeth Moss, who won best performance for her role on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” quoted Margaret Atwood, “We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edge of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.”

To that, Moss added:

For Margaret Atwood and all of the women who came before her and after her, who were brave enough to speak out against intolerance and injustice and fight for equality and freedom, we no longer live in the blank white spaces at the edge of print. We no longer live in the gaps between the stories. We are the story in print and we are writing the story ourselves.

Many of the female recipients, including Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern, both of “Big Little Lies,” spoke about the need for the telling of women’s stories and the change those stories can bring.

The largest speech of the night came from Oprah Winfrey, who won the Cecil B. DeMille award — an award given for outstanding contributions to entertainment. Winfrey said she was proud and inspired by all the women who have spoken up to share their personal stories. She also reminded the room that this movement affects more than just the entertainment industry — it affects every culture, race, religion, and workplace. Winfrey continued:

I’ve interviewed and portrayed people who’ve withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning even during our darkest nights. So I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon. 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 that take us to the time when nobody has ever has to say ‘me too’ again.

The Golden Globe ambassador — a new title initiated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — will also praise women’s voices this year. Simone Garcia Johnson, Dwayne Johnson’s daughter, will be the first ambassador. She’ll use her role to help Global Girl Media, which is dedicated to empowering high school girls in under-served areas through “media, leadership and journalistic training.”

Photo via Instagram

Originally published: January 8, 2018
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