Time's Up says Reese Whitherspoon, Meryl Steep and Shonda Rhimes anti-harassment coalition
If you thought Reese Whitherspoon’s feisty nature was reserved for Madeline in Big Little Lies, you could not have been more wrong. The star has now taken her fight for what is right beyond reel. She along with 300 other women including Shonda Rhimes, Meryl Steep and Jennifer Aniston have formed an anti-harassment coalition called ‘Time's Up’.
Time’s Up literally says time is up for all sexual predators in the entertainment business and other fields where women face workplace harassment. The coalition is setting up a legal defense fund and advocate for legislation combatting workplace harassment. The fund is being supported by biggies in Hollywood like Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift, J.J. Abrams and Viola Davis.
Rhimes wrote in a statement on Time’s Up, "Every person should get to work in an environment free from abuse, assault and discrimination. It's well past time to change the culture of the environment where most of us spend the majority of our day—the work place. 51% of our population is female, over 30% of our population is of color. Those are important, vital, economically powerfully voices that need to be heard at every level."
The initiative addresses legislation, corporate policy and hiring practices and aggregates resources and is a movement to promote equality and safety in the workplace. She added, "TIME'S UP is working to make sure the people walking the corridors of power within the workplace and in politics truly reflect the full mix of America—the real America that looks like and includes all of us. Look, this isn't going to be easy but it is right. And fighting for what is right can seem hard. But letting what is wrong become normal is not easier—it is just more shameful."
The movement comes in the heat of stories of sexual approaches emerging in Hollywood with powerful names like Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose and Kevin Spacey being accused.