Time’s Up will be a part of Oscar show, but no dress code

WEST HOLLYWOOD » The organizers of Time’s Up say the movement to eradicate discrimination in the workplace will have a presence at Sunday’s Oscar show, but there are no plans for a redcarpet dress code.

Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, actresses Laura Dern and Tessa Thompson, producer Katie McGrath and attorney Nina Shaw talked about the movement’s progress and next steps with news reporters Thursday.

They stressed that while Time’s Up made a splashy appearance at the Golden Globes earlier this year, with most women wearing black and several actresses walking the red carpet with activists, the movement is bigger and broader than awards shows.

“We’re trying to build something that’s sustainable, lasting and serious,” DuVernay said Thursday at the meeting at the Sunshine Sachs publicity firm’s offices in West Hollywood, California.

Time’s Up was “launched on the red carpet, but was never intended to live there,” Rhimes said.

Besides the black dresses at the Globes, Time’s Up supporters wore white roses at the Grammy Awards. No such uniformity is planned for the Oscars.

Formed after the Harvey Weinstein scandal revealed widespread sexual harassment in Hollywood, Time’s Up has grown into an international, multifaceted and multipronged approach to fighting workplace discrimination, organizers said. They outlined the various avenues of the effort at Thursday’s news conference.

A key element is the legal defense fund, which has amassed $21 million and scores of attorneys to date. In partnership with the National Women’s Law Center, the fund connects victims of harassment or discrimination with attorneys, who are either volunteering their services or having their fees underwritten by donations.

Since Time’s Up was founded about two months ago, it has received some 1,700 requests for legal assistance, said attorney Tina Tchen, a lawyer and former