The ‘Will & Grace’ star wore a black ensemble in solidarity with the Time’s Up initiative at Sunday’s awards show.
Will & Grace star Debra Messing wore black to Sunday’s Golden Globes Awards, and emotionally opened up about what the statement of solidarity meant to her.
“I feel really privileged, and thrilled to be here on this night, particularly. The last three months or so have been so harrowing, with all of the brave whistleblowers telling their stories, and we’ve all wanted to say, ‘How can we make a difference?’ And now we have this incredible Time’s Up initiative, this movement that is rolling out,” Messing said to ET’s Nancy O’Dell on the red carpet at the awards show in Beverly Hills on Sunday. “Change is here. That’s it. We are done with discrimination. We want diversity and intersectional gender parity, and equal pay. This is the second wave.”
The female stars behind the newly-created Time’s Up initiative encouraged attendees to wear black to the awards show as a way of expressing solidarity for the victims of industry sexual harassment and assault, while also aiming to change the narrative on how things are done in the industry.
Messing, who made her stunning statement in a custom-beaded Christian Siriano top and silk trousers, admitted to having had her own "#MeToo” experience, but said the night’s movement was more about the collective push for change. “It’s about all of us and celebrating everybody who is working together collectively,” she noted. “It’s a sisterhood, and it feels very powerful.”
“I don’t believe that I know any woman who has not [had a #MeToo moment]. It’s something that I never really talked about, and it’s because of people like Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan and Salma Hayek, the list is so long, that the conversation that the conversation finally started happening,” she added. “You realize, ‘Oh my god. This is a systemic problem, this is a societal issue, and it’s not just Hollywood. It is across all industries, globally.’”
As for the goals of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, Messing said the starting point is as simple as equality.
“We need balance in our boardrooms. We want 50-50 by 2020: 50 percent women, 50 percent men, in all decision-making roles,” she explained. “We really believe that once that happens, once the workforce and the work that we do here, the storytelling, reflects the real world, the incidents of harassment and sexual assault with all go down.”
For Messing, the evening was, of course, also about celebrating Will & Grace. The beloved NBC sitcom made its return this year, after 11 years off the air, and earned two more nominations for its celebrated revival season.
“It really is...something that I don't think any of us imagined was possible,” Messing marveled. “11 years and, you know, we've done seven episodes. To be here again, celebrated for the work, it's the best of all possibilities, really.”
This year’s nominations bring Will & Grace to a total of 29 nominations at the Globes, all without a win. So will this be their year? “I sure hope so!” the actress exclaimed.
See more from the 2018 Golden Globes in the video below, and check out @etnow for all the latest from the red carpet.
