Kerry Washington used an interview at the Golden Globes to encapsulate the feelings of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements.
Speaking with NBC’s Al Roker during the network’s red carpet coverage of the awards show, Washington fielded a question about why women hadn’t boycotted the Golden Globes as part of the #TimesUp movement. Washington responded by saying that women who are victims of sexual assault and harassment shouldn’t also be punished by having to sit out the awards show.
“We shouldn’t have to sit out the night,” Washington told Roker. “We shouldn’t have to give up our seat at the table because of bad behavior that wasn’t ours.”
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Washington, the star of ABC’s “Scandal” and a Golden Globes presenter, wore black to the show, along with nearly everyone else attending the Golden Globes. The wardrobe choice was a show of solidarity with the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements. Both are responses to the huge numbers of women coming forward in Hollywood and beyond to accuse powerful men of sexual harassment and abuse, including heavyweights like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Louis C.K., and Morgan Spurlock.
Earlier this week, Washington also fielded the question of a boycott from the Los Angeles Times.
“Wearing black is an opportunity to talk about all the other things that we’re doing,” Washington told the Times. “We’re saying that we are three-dimensional, fully realized human beings as women. We are participants in this entertainment industry, and we have something to say.”
The red carpet interviews ahead of the Golden Globes were largely focused on discussions of #TimesUp issues like safe workplaces and equal pay for women. Many celebrities also brought activists to the Golden Globes to spread greater awareness of issues affecting women across the country and around the world.