[media-credit name=”The Quinnipiac Chronicle” align=”alignright” width=”134″][/media-credit]This year on Jan. 7, the traditional Golden Globe Awards ceremony took on a new purpose as a platform to support victims of sexual assault, abuse and harassment. The protest against sexual misconducts was in response to the overwhelming amount of accusations that have surfaced since it was revealed how rampant sexual crimes were in Hollywood.

Many celebrities who attended the awards like Chris Hemsworth and Millie Bobby Brown dressed in all black to support the new “Time’s Up” campaign. In addition, many celebrities wore a “Time’s Up” pin on their garments.

The “Time’s Up” campaign is a female-driven movement created to address the “systematic inequality and injustice in the workplace that has kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential,”according to the “Time’s Up” official website. “Time’s Up” has also created the “Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund,” which provides legal support for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. This organization has partnered with the National Women’s Law Center and the center’s Legal Network for Gender Equality.

In addition to wearing all black, celebrities brought dates from many different fields of work who have helped make strides in fighting gender inequality and sexual harassment. Actress Michelle Williams brought the founder of the “Me Too” movement, Tarana Burke, to the event, and they both walked down the red carpet in beautiful black dresses.

On the E! Red Carpet pre-show, Williams stated, “I thought I would have to raise my daughter to learn how to protect herself in a dangerous world, but I think the work that Tarana has done and the work that I’m learning how to do- we actually have the opportunity to hand our children a different world.”

Eight actresses (Laura Dern, Amy Poehler, Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Emma Watson and Shailene Woodley) partnered with the New York Times to each bring eight activists to the award ceremony.

However, not all celebrities who attended the Golden Globes wore black. German model Barbara Meier and actress Blanca Blanco neglected to wear black in support of the movement. The President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), Meher Tatna wore a red gown. When asked why she did not wear black Tatna said, “…it’s a cultural thing. When you have a celebration, you don’t wear black. So (my mother) would (have been) appalled if I were to (have) worn black.” Tatna did wear the pin while the other two outliers did not, and she has professed her support for the movement.

Many of the celebrities who chose to wear black were also scrutinized for doing so when in the past they have been revealed to have supported perpetrators of sexual assault. Many viewers were frustrated with the hypocrisy these stars displayed by only now standing up for victims of sexual harassment.

Actor James Franco was highly criticized for wearing all-black when recent sexual assault allegations from multiple women have surfaced since. Five women have since come forward to announce their accusations against the actor.

“Look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for the things that I have done… if I have done something wrong, I will fix it- I have to,” Franco said on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Amongst those who felt that the protest was trivial was actress Rose McGowan, who has become the face of the Hollywood sexual harassment inquisition since she was made the most well-known case of sexual assault in the Harvey Weinstein scandal. The actress took to Twitter to announce her disappointment in the seemingly surface-level gesture of the protest in a response to a tweet from Asia Argento. Argento tweeted to McGowan: “No one should forget that you were the first one who broke the silence. Anyone who tries to diminish your work is a troll and an enemy of the movement. You gave me the courage to speak out. I am on your side until I die.” McGowan answered with, “And not one of those fancy people wearing black to honor our rapes would have lifted a finger had it not been so. I have no time for Hollywood fakery, but you I love. #RoseArmy.”

McGowan’s tweet raises the question about whether this protest at the Golden Globes was simply a temporal effort to raise awareness for sexual harassment or simply a trend for celebrities to support in order to gain positive publicity or empathy from the pubic.

Additional information and resources:

Time’s Up: https://www.timesupnow.com/

Time’s Up GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/timesup

RAINN: https://www.rainn.org/ / 800-656-HOPE

National Domestic Violence Hotline: http://www.thehotline.org/