Some of Hollywood's most powerful women have teamed up to launch an initiative aimed at combating sexual harassment inside and outside their industry after an avalanche of allegations set in motion by the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
In a full-page open letter published in Monday's New York Times, 300 prominent actresses, female agents, writers, directors, producers and entertainment executives announced the campaign called Time's Up. A few of the more famous Hollywood women who signed the letter include Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Kerry Washington, Rashida Jones, and Ashley Judd.
It’s time to shift the balance in the workplace, from representing the few to representing us all. Sign the #TIMESUP solidarity letter and donate to the #TIMESUP Legal Defense Fund right here: https://t.co/GNhkSnWIDb pic.twitter.com/a5oi2Sbaam
— TIME'S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) January 1, 2018
"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," the letter says.
The Time's Up initiative includes:
Shonda Rhimes, executive producer of such television series as Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, was quoted in the Times as saying: "It's very hard for us to speak righteously about the rest of anything if we haven't cleaned our own house."
Witherspoon said that in the past women 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," she said, according to the Times.
Since October, when dozens of women began coming forward to accuse producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, numerous men in prominent industries have been forced to resign over sexual harassment claims, including top editors at NPR.
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