Men had little to say about harassment, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed
THE men showed up, as they often do to awards shows, dressed in black suits and tuxedos. This time, however, the colour was a symbol of solidarity for women facing sexual harassment and discrimination. To make this perfectly clear, some men wore Time’s Up pins on their lapels - a show of support for the initiative launched by Hollywood women to combat sexual harassment and abuse in their industry, and in those that are not in the public eye.
But for the most part, the men did not speak about the symbols they wore. That job fell almost entirely to women.
This year’s Golden Globes was a reflection of Hollywood’s ongoing mass exorcism of the men who have sexually harassed and assaulted women, a movement that has spread from the downfall of Harvey Weinstein to several other major industries. And while the awards show reflected the power of this moment, it also reflected some of its problems. Namely, that the burden of fighting sexual harassment and abuse continues to fall upon women.
Seth Meyers’s opening monologue was almost entirely about the Me Too moment, from noting that it was kind of weird for a man to host the awards this year to joking that Weinstein will be back at the Globes “in 20 years, when he becomes the first person ever booed during the In Memoriam.”
It was a lead that few men followed.
Here’s an example: Justin Timberlake proudly showed off his Time’s Up pin in a tweet with the hashtag #whywewearblack. But instead of explaining why, he used the remainder of the tweet to let everyone know that he thinks his wife is hot:
“Here we come!! And DAMN, my wife is hot! #TIMESUP#wh ywewearblackpic.twitter.com/ q0XWH6XR68
Justin Timberlake
The men who won awards Sunday night largely skipped the topic altogether in their acceptance speeches, perhaps feeling that their pins and tuxes were enough. In their speeches, James Franco, Ewan McGregor, Guillermo del Toro, Aziz Ansari and Sam Rockwell were among the winners who avoided the movement that otherwise dominated the evening.
There were exceptions, at least somewhat: Gary Oldman said that “words and actions can change the world, and boy oh boy, does it need some changing,” a general sentiment that could apply to sexual harassment and abuse. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ executive producer Bruce Miller referenced the topic of the show that gave him the award. “To all the people in this room and this country and this world who do everything they can to stop ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ from becoming real,” he said, “keep doing that.”
After his win, Sam Rockwell was asked what else men can do to create long-lasting change in his industry but stumbled in his response. “I don’t really know the answer to that, but I suppose, I think really the issue is bullying. I think people have to stop being bullies.”
When men were asked about their black tuxes and Time’s Up pins on the red carpet, some had answers ready. “Yes, it’s important tonight but it’s important to follow through,” Denzel Washington said to NBC host Al Roker. “It’s important to see what’s going to be happening a year from tonight.”
Others revealed that they had little of substance to say, struggling to answer basic questions on what those symbols meant.
At the end of their interview, Seacrest noted that Armie Hammer was wearing a Time’s Up pin. Then E!’s coverage quickly moved on. — WPBloomberg