Stars take stand at 75th Golden Globe Awards

Olivia Bratton, Copy Editor

Lights, camera, and the Time’s Up movement.

On Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the 75th Annual Golden Globes, the celebrated figures that walked the red carpet had a more powerful message behind accepting their awards.

Influential men and women wore black in support of Time’s Up, a movement created by 300 strong women in the entertainment industry to combat sexual misconduct.

Time’s Up is an initiative that contains a legal defense fund, supported by its members, to assist less privileged women to take action against their violators, according to The New York Times. The organisation also develops ideas for legislation and encourages agencies to have more equal employment of men and women. Members of the initiative include America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon.

The stars that walk the red carpet decided it was time to use their platform to help make a change.

“It’s really simple. This is not an end-all, be-all, it’s not a solution to a very systemic problem, but I think it’s important for people like us who have the spotlight on us to turn that light on an issue that’s larger than patting ourselves on the back,” said Director Ava Duvernay.

Along with wearing black gowns in support of the movement at the Globes, several actresses were accompanied by female activists as their guests. Meryl Streep was alongside Ai-Jen-Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. These unique dates sparked refreshingly different conversations on the red carpet. Instead of discussing their dress or jewelry designers, the stars were applauding their dates’ world-changing work along with crucial issues regarding gender injustice.

Among those special guests was also Marai Larasi, Emma Watson’s date and an executive director of Imkaan, a black feminist organization in the United Kingdom. According to Variety, Larasi was inspired by the movement and said, “Having women in Hollywood shine a light on this issue and stand in solidarity with a whole range of activists is absolutely amazing, because what it does is says this is really important, you can’t look away anymore.”

Supportive actors also contributed to the cause. Men like Justin Timberlake, Joe and Nick Jonas, and Ryan Seacrest accessorized their suits by wearing a black and white Time’s Up pin.

The eye-opening movement regarding sexual abuse was not the only event that made a mark at the Golden Globes. After host Seth Meyers joked about Oprah Winfrey becoming the next president, she took the stage to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award and delivered what is believed to be the most powerful speech of the night.  

According to the Elite Daily, the Cecil B. DeMille Award is typically given to an actor or director to applaud their contributions to entertainment, but Winfrey has accomplished more than the common nominee. In addition to being an actor and director, Winfrey is a host, journalist, philanthropist, and business women who has used these positions to become one of the most famous people in the world.

Winfrey began her speech by reflecting on how inspirational it was to watch the first black man to accept this award, Sidney Poitier, take the stage when she was a little girl. She followed by announcing her gratefulness that she was the first black woman to be given this award and gave a shout out to the little girls looking up to her.

Addressing the major issue of the night, Winfrey shifted her attention to the Time’s Up and MeToo movements.  She said that the time is up for the men who have abused their power in important positions.

The crowd applauded and stood for Winfrey’s final words, “I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, are fighting hard to make sure they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.”

Winfrey’s inspirational words ignited a fire in the room for others to speak up as well. In the presentation of the best director award immediately following Winfrey’s speech, actress Natalie Portman was not afraid to acknowledge, “Here are the all-male nominees.” Jessica Chastain and Chris Hemsworth also confronted the wage gap between male and female actors while presenting an award on stage.

Many viewers are hoping that Winfrey’s influential reign does not stop at the Golden Globes. Cries for Winfrey to consider presidency were trending on every social media platform, and her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, responded to them by stating in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, “It’s up to the people” and “She would absolutely do it.”

#WhyWeWearBlack was a common hashtag used by celebrities to share their messages regarding sexual misconduct. Reese Witherspoon posted alongside Eva Longoria with the caption, “Honored to stand with this woman and women everywhere tonight for equality, parity, safety and inclusion. #WhyWeWearBlack @timesupnow #GoldenGlobes” (Credit to Witherspoon via Instagram).

The winners of the Golden Globes are as follows:

Movies

Best motion picture, drama: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best motion picture, musical or comedy: “Lady Bird”

Best director, motion picture: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama:Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in any motion picture: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in any motion picture: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best screenplay, motion picture: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best motion picture, animated: “Coco”

Best motion picture, foreign language: “In the Fade”

Best original score, motion picture: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”

Best original song, motion picture: “This Is Me” — “The Greatest Showman”

 

Television

Best television series, drama: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu

Best performance by an actress in a television series, drama: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best performance by an actor in a television series, drama:Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”

Best television series, musical or comedy: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon

Best performance by an actress in a television series, musical or comedy: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Best performance by an actor in a television series, musical or comedy: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”

Best television limited series or motion picture made for television: “Big Little Lies,” HBO

Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”

Best performance by an actor in a limited series or motion picture made for television: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”