The 75th annual Golden Globes Awards kicked off the 2018 award show season Sunday, January 7. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association presented the show, and American comedian Seth Meyers hosted the event in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A-list celebrities attended dressed in black in solidarity with victims of sexual misconduct, according to The New York Times.
The Golden Globes was the first major event where women nationally addressed the issue of sexual misconduct, a problem that has recently plagued American industries. Mr. Meyers opened the show with a monologue that immediately addressed the matter which he called, “the elephant not in the room.”
“Good evening, ladies and remaining gentlemen,” Mr. Meyer said, according to The New York Times. “Considering what has been going on this year with powerful men and their terrible behavior in Hollywood, a lot of people thought it would be more appropriate for a woman to host these awards, and they may be right.”
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Actresses Ms. Laura Dern, Ms. Amy Poehler, Ms. Susan Sarandon, Miss Meryl Streep, Ms. Emma Stone, Ms. Emma Watson, Ms. Michelle Williams, and Ms. Shailene Woodley, each attended the show alongside different activists who work to raise awareness in a range of fields relating to sexual misconduct, according to The New York Times.
The idea of bringing activists and dressing in black was part of the effort of 300 women who work in the entertainment industry, according to The New York Times, these women formed an organization called Time’s Up. This organization works to raise awareness for abused women who have been marginalized because of class, sexuality, ethnicity, or race. Time’s Up is also a response to the #MeToo movement that has swept the nation in the recent months.
“For too long survivors of sexual assault and harassment have been in the shadows. We have been afraid to speak up, to say ‘Me Too’ and seek accountability,” founder of the ‘Me Too’ movement Ms. Tarana Burke said, according to metoomvmt.org.
Ms. Allison Janney, the recipient of this year’s Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, is one of the many women in the entertainment industry who supports the Time’s Up organization.
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“I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to end abuse and sexual harassment, but now there will be repercussions for that type of behavior,” Ms. Janney said during her backstage speech. “People will be held accountable for it. The fund [Time’s Up is] creating will help people who can’t afford legal counsel get counsel.”
American talk show host and philanthropist, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, made an impact in the ballroom, Sunday, when she became the first African-American woman to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. After receiving the award, she delivered a ten-minute speech, primarily focused on the #MeToo movement.
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“I am especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak and share their personal stories,” Ms. Winfrey said during her acceptance speech. “Each of us in this room is celebrated, because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story.”
Ms. Winfrey continued by saying that sexual harassment and abuse is not an issue that solely surrounds the entertainment industry, but is a problem that is found in every workplace, and that affects people of every race, culture, country, and religion.
“We all have lived too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men,” Ms. Winfrey said. “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.”
– Shantel Guzman, Sports and Health Editor
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Dressed in black on the red carpet
