Last night, the Golden Globes were held — and were especially notable because this was the first awards ceremony since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement started. And Hollywood acknowledged the moment in a big way — or at least, the women did. Almost every celebrity woman — and eight activists, including #MeToo creator Tarana Burke, who attended as celebrity women’s plus-ones — wore black and spoke out against sexual harassment on the red carpet. But men, with a few exceptions, did not speak out (in interviews or in speeches) about the culture of sexual harassment and assault in their industry.
The wins were varied, too. Lady Bird took home Best Motion Picture: Comedy, but Greta Gerwig didn’t even get a nomination for Best Director. Several accused abusers, including Gary Oldman and Kirk Douglas, were honored. Many pointed out the hypocrisy of those who chose to wear #TimesUp pins while continuing to work with accused abusers (looking at you, Justin Timberlake) and/or not donating to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.
Read on to see nine moments to pay attention to from the 2018 Golden Globes.
1. Almost everyone wore black on the red carpet.
via Instagram/@TimesUpNow
As had been rumored, almost everyone who attended the Golden Globes wore black — and it wasn’t an empty statement, as we had worried it might be. Eight celebrity women brought activists as their plus-ones, and many others spoke out about sexual harassment and assault in red carpet interviews — even when they weren’t directly asked about it. Many also pointed out, correctly, that Hollywood isn’t the only industry fighting rape culture. Additionally, the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which supports those in every industry who are affected by sexual harassment and assault, has now raised over $16 million — in just 19 days.
On the other hand, many people correctly pointed out that it was overwhelmingly women speaking out against sexual harassment and assault, while, with a few exceptions, men stayed silent — and that quite a few celebrities of all genders wore #TimeUp pins but didn’t renounce their support of accused abusers like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. Wearing black at the Golden Globes was not an empty statement — again, over $16 million has been raised to help people fighting sexual assault in all industries — but there is still a lot of work to do.
2. Activists were honored and celebrated.
Eight activists attended as celebrity women’s plus-ones: #MeToo creator and Girls For Gender Equity founder Tarana Burke, National Domestic Workers Alliance director Ai-jen Poo, workplace justice advocate for restaurant workers Saru Jayaraman, Imkaan (a UK-based organization that fights violence against black and minority women) executive director Marai Larasi, journalist and community organizer Rosa Clemente, farmworkers advocate Mónica Ramírez, Native American treaty and water rights activist Calina Lawrence, and women’s and LGBTQ rights activist Billie Jean King. In many cases, the celebrity women expertly pivoted their answers to interview questions into opportunities to celebrate the activists, who then spoke powerfully about their work (as above).
3. Debra Messing and others called out E! News for their gender pay gap.
Last month, longtime host Catt Sadler publicly left E! News after she discovered her male counterpart was making more than twice her salary. Several celebrities called this out during their E! red carpet interviews. Debra Messing was the most blunt, saying, “I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I miss Catt Sadler, and so we stand with her.” Laura Dern, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Eva Longoria also brought up E!’s wage gap in their E! interviews.
4. The women of Big Little Lies used their speeches to send a message.
Many women used their acceptance speeches to share an activist message, but perhaps the most powerful came from the women of Big Little Lies. Nicole Kidman, who won the Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries award for playing a woman who leaves an abusive relationship, said that her character “represents something that is the center of our conversation right now — abuse. I do believe and I hope we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them.” Laura Dern, who won the Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries award, called for everyone “to not only support survivors and bystanders who are brave enough to tell their truth but, to promote restorative justice, may we also please protect and employ them.”
5. Oprah’s speech was EVERYTHING.
The most powerful speech of the night went, hands-down, to Oprah. In her speech accepting the Cecil B. de Mille Award (becoming the first black woman to win this award), Oprah talked about the importance of representation and the life and legacy of Recy Taylor, a black sharecropper who was raped by six white men in 1944 when she was 24 years old, and whose pursuit of justice — helped along by Rosa Parks — was a catalyst in the Civil Rights movement. “She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men,” Oprah said of Taylor. “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.” You definitely want to watch her speech, above.
6. Women-centered entertainment won big…
Several women-led TV series took home multiple awards — Big Little Lies, the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Handmaid’s Tale. On the movie side, Lady Bird won Best Motion Picture: Musical Or Comedy and Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan won Best Actress In A Motion Picture: Musical Or Comedy. Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress In A Motion Picture: Musical Or Comedy for her performance in I, Tonya.
7. But no women were nominated for Best Director — as Natalie Portman pointed out.
Following Oprah’s speech, Natalie Portman introduced the nominees for Best Director with “And here are the all-male nominees….” In fact, the only woman to be honored for a non-acting award was Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which won Best TV Series: Musical Or Comedy.
8. And very few people of color — and no women of color, besides Oprah — took home awards.
This year’s Golden Globes winners were overwhelmingly white — only two people of color won awards, three if you count Oprah. The two awards went to Sterling K. Brown and Aziz Ansari, for Best Actor In A TV Series: Drama and Comedy, respectively. With these wins, Brown became the first black man to win in this category, ever, and Aziz Ansari became the first Asian-American to win a Best Actor award in a TV category, ever. The snubbing of Get Out, Insecure, and other media created by and centering people of color particularly stung because Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — which has a highly-criticized storyline about the redemption of a violent, racist cop — took home four major awards, including Best Motion Picture: Drama.
9. Accused abusers won awards — and people noticed.
via Twitter/@allysheedy
People on social media were quick to share past sexual harassment, assault, or abuse allegations against award winners Gary Oldman and James Franco, nominees Christian Slater and Jude Law, presenter Kirk Douglas, red carpet interviewer Ryan Seacrest, and guest Justin Timberlake. Several women shared new allegations against James Franco following his Best Actor in a Motion Picture: Comedy win. It’s disheartening to see accused abusers wear #TimesUp pins and accept awards — but it’s encouraging to see so many notice this hypocrisy and call for justice.
top photo: NBC/YouTube
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