From the red carpet to Natalie Portman dragging the directing category, the Time’s Up movement made its voice heard at the 75th annual ceremony.
The 75th annual Golden Globes, which was hosted by Seth Meyers, marked the official start to an awards season following months of women speaking out against sexual misconduct, particularly in Hollywood.
In January, the #MeToo movement gave way to Time’s Up, a coalition of 300 (and growing) prominent women in Hollywood standing up against the systemic problem of not only sexual misconduct, but also to address the imbalance of power in the workforce confounded by issues of gender disparity in jobs and pay leading to ongoing injustice and inequality.
The new movement to empower women took shape just six days before Hollywood’s biggest stars and most powerful people were scheduled to come together to celebrate the onscreen achievements of 2017. One of the Time’s Up tenets was “a request that women walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes speak out and raise awareness by wearing black,” helping to ensure that the conversation would continue Sunday evening and beyond.
But as Sunday proved, the dialogue wasn’t limited to the red carpet. Here’s how Time’s Up made its voice heard at the awards show:
Hollywood Changes the Convo on the Red Carpet
The red carpet looked noticeably different as women wore all back at Sunday’s ceremony. While the decision to unite behind a certain color was met with some criticism, it was a decision that was made with the larger sisterhood in mind. “They chose black because most people own black. It's a color we all have,” Allison Williams explained to ET. “It’s a message. It’s a way of expressing your support for this movement and the fact that it’s time to support one another.” Ultimately, it helped focus the conversation on the tenets of Time’s Up, furthering past movements to “ask her more” than about what women are wearing on the red carpet.
In addition to wearing black, several nominees brought Time’s Up activists and advocates as dates to the ceremony. Emma Watson was joined by Marai Larasi, the executive director of the leading black feminist network organization, Imkaan, while Meryl Streep came with Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-director of the Caring Across Generations Campaign.
Amy Poehler Steals Seth Meyers’ Opening Monologue
While Meyers tackled some of Hollywood’s biggest offenders -- Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, among others -- he turned to female attendees to help with his monologue’s funniest jokes.
Borrowing from a running segment “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell,” on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the host asked Jessica Chastain, Billy Eichner and others to deliver the punch lines for what would be off-color jokes for him to deliver as a straight, white man.
However, in a hilarious moment of anarchy, Poehler refused to let Meyers set up her joke. “Oh, is that how it works? You’re explaining something I already know. Is this the mansplaining part of the evening?” she quipped, before adding: “I’m a woman in Hollywood, Seth. We’ve all been through a lot. I don’t need a setup to make a punch line work.”
When Meyers tried to cut in, she quickly snapped: “Oh, another apology. How wonderful.”
Female Acceptance Speeches Invoke Sisterhood and Continued Fight for Equality
Throughout the night, female winners from Rachel Brosnahan to Frances McDormand, addressed tenets of the Time’s Up movement, calling for solidarity and more female-driven stories. Most notably, Reese Witherspoon, one of Time’s Up founders, acknowledged all the women who spoke out against sexual misconduct when accepting the award for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Big Little Lies.
“This show is so much about the life we present to the world that could be very different than the life we live behind closed doors, so I want to thank everyone who broke their silence this year and spoke up about abuse and harassment. You are so brave,” she said. “And, hopefully, shows like this, more will be made so people out there who are feeling silenced by harassment, discrimination, abuse ‑‑ time is up. We see you, we hear you and we will tell your stories.”
Oprah Winfrey Gives the Speech of All Speeches
Perhaps no speech was more powerful or heartfelt than that of Oprah Winfrey, who was accepting the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award. Declaring that a “new day is on the horizon,” the media mogul spoke of diversity, visibility and sexual abuse.
"I want, tonight, to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because, like my mother, they had bills to pay and dreams to pursue," Winfrey said, telling the story of Recy Taylor, and declaring that “time is up” for those who use their positions of power to abuse others.
“I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon!" she continued. “And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are here tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody has to say, 'Me too,' again!”
Natalie Portman and Others Drag the All-Male Categories
As the night went on, female presenters became more outspoken -- or embolden -- when it came to the male-centric categories. Most notably, Portman unexpectedly dragged all of the male nominees in the Best Director category, which failed to recognize a single woman.
“And here are the all-male nominees,” Portman slipped in as she and Ron Howard were about to announce the nominees before awarding the prize to The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro.
Later, while presenting the Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon brought up the issue of pay inequality, suggesting the winner cut a check to their female co-stars.
But Barbra Streisand said it simply, echoing the night’s rally cry, telling the room that she was dismayed that she was still the only woman to win the directing category, saying, “Folks, time’s up,” before naming the winner of Best Motion Picture – Drama.
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