Hollywood's 'Time's Up' campaign against sexual harassment closes in on $15m fundraising goal
A campaign against sexual harassment in the workplace, which is being spearheaded by some of Hollywood's biggest stars, has raised more than $13m of its $15m target after taking out a full page ad in the New York Times on 1 January.
Shonda Rhimes, Emma Stone and Rashida Jones are among those backing the 'Time's Up' movement
The 'Time's Up' project was announced in the first day of 2018 via an open letter in the publication to the film, TV and performing arts industries. In it, household names called for an end to "the systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential".
To help achieve this goal, organizers are looking to drive donations to fund legal support for both female and male victims of sexual harassment at work.
The Fund will be housed at and administrated by the National Women’s Law Center in the US.
An open letter appears in @LaOpinionLA and @nytimes today from us to our sisters in the Farm Worker’s Union. It’s also a call to arms. We’ve started a legal defense fund supporting those across industries who’ve experienced abuse in the workplace. Join us. #TIMESUP (link in bio) pic.twitter.com/Zr5C4QgcXg
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) January 1, 2018
300 signatories – including Natalie Portman, Shonda Rhimes, Emma Stone, Kerry Washington and Meryl Streep – are backing the campaign, and asking others to do the same.
The project has just $2m to go to beat its $15m target, and at the time of writing had attracted the attention of close to 4000 donors.
'Time's Up' said it is aimed at "every woman... who has had to fend off sexual advances", with the letter going on to say that such harassment can often continue because "perpetrators and employers never face any consequences".
The letter's placement in the New York Times is particularly fitting given that the title was the first to break news around a wave of sexual abuse allegations by high-profile actresses against film producer Harvey Weinstein at the end of last year.
The high-profile accusations initiated a global #MeToo movement in which women from all industries and backgrounds were encouraged to share their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse online; in the first 24 hours after it went viral the hashtag was used over half a million times.
In the ad industry, figures like Cindy Gallop have called on individuals to document their own experiences and name perpetrators in order to help root out the cause of the problem.