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Hollywood women launch group to tackle harassment in wake of Harvey Weinstein scandal
Three hundred Hollywood women have launched a new group to tackle the sexual harassment problems revealed by the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Emma Stone and Natalie Portman are among the actresses, movie executives and writers backing the ‘Time’s Up’ campaign group.
A $13m dollar legal fund will help “less privileged women” who are the victims of sexual misconduct get justice. Film stars are also being urged to wear black at the Golden Globes this month to show solidarity and speak out against inequality on the red carpet.
The group has placed a full page advert in the The New York Times and La Opinion, a Spanish-language newspaper, calling for action.
“The struggle for women to break in, to rise up the ranks and to simply be heard and acknowledged in male-dominated workplaces must end; time’s up on this impenetrable monopoly,” it read.
The group is the most prominent example of women in Holywood turning outrage at allegations against Mr Weinstein into a wider movement for change. Mr Weinstein, the co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, faced of accusations of rape, sexual assault and harassment from dozens of women last year. His spokesman has repeatedly denied “any allegations of non-consensual sex”.
Time’s Up, which has emerged in the months since the scandal broke, is run by volunteers and made up of a number of working groups. It has drawn support for a number of high profile women in the acting industry, both in front of and behind the camera.
Ms Witherspoon, who starred in Legally Blonde and Walk The Line, told The New York Times: “We have been siloed off from each other. “We’re finally hearing each other, and seeing each other, and now locking arms in solidarity with each other, and in solidarity for every woman who doesn’t feel seen, to be finally heard.” Ms Longoria, who appeared in the TV series Desperate Housewives, is among those backing a campaign for starts to wear black at the Golden Globes awards ceremony.
“For years, we’ve sold these awards shows as women, with our gowns and colors and our beautiful faces and our glamour,” she said. “This time the industry can’t expect us to go up and twirl around. That’s not what this moment is about.” Other supporters include Ashley Judd, the actress who has accused Weinstein of harassment, Donna Langley, chairwoman of Universal Pictures, and Tina Tchen, who served as Michelle Obama’s chief of staff.
The campaign has put a focus on helping victims who are out of the spotlight after months where the claims of well-known Holywood figures have made the headlines.
“We fervently urge the media covering disclosures by people in Holywood to spend equal time on the myriad of experiences of individuals working in less glamourized and valorized trades,” a message posted on the group’s website read. Its legal fund, which is still taking donations, will be housed at the National Women’s Law Center and help victims who “have been silenced for too long”.
The group is also pushing for film companies to agree to target a “fifty-fifty” gender split on their boards to counter male dominance at the top of the industry.