Sofia Lotto Persio

By Sofia Lotto Persio

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Updated | A new movement in Hollywood aims to fight sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond, setting up a legal defense fund and issuing a call to action under the motto: Time's Up.

Women working as actors, agents, laywers, producers and writers came together in October in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault allegations scandal and the powerful #MeToo online movement. They discussed how to enforce change in an industry that for decades had marginalized, if not actively silenced, women's voices as well as experiences of harassment and assault.

"Time's up on this impenetrable monopoly," read an open letter published in The New York Times on Monday and signed by 282 women writing on behalf of their colleagues, including producer, screenwriter, and author Shonda Rhimes, actor and producer Reese Witherspoon and activist Gloria Steinem.

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The movement will champion a number of different initiatives, including inviting women walking the Golden Globe Awards red carpet this Sunday to wear black and use the platform to raise awareness about the initiative.

"This is a moment of solidarity, not a fashion moment," actress, producer, director and designer Eva Longoria told The Times, adding that a vast majority of the women attending the ceremony have pledged to support the initiative.

"For years, we've sold these awards shows as women, with our gowns and colors and our beautiful faces and our glamour," Longoria added. "This time the industry can't expect us to go up and twirl around. That's not what this moment is about."

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The letter began with a heartfelt thank you to the 700,000 farmworker women of the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (the National Farmworker Women's Alliance), who had sent Hollywood stars a letter of solidarity in November and have since responded to Time's Up letter, writing on Twitter: "We are grateful for their heartfelt words & leadership. We proudly stand with them."

The Time's Up signatories intend to use their privileged position to support those whose financial resources may not allow them to pursue justice in face of exploitation, asking the press to cover cases of sexual harassment and assault in all workplaces.

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Members of the movement have pledged to seed into a legal fund available to survivors of sexual assault and harassment in any workplace who need support to seek justice against those who harmed them. The fund is open for additional donation on a crowdfunding platform and has received more than $13.7 million donations by 4,300 people in the past 12 days. Its goal is to raise $15 million.

The movement is also seeking an end to male-dominated workplace environments, demanding "equal representation, opportunities, benefits and pay for all women workers," as well as legislative changes to tackle how nondisclosure agreements silence survivors of sexual harassment and assault.

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Everyone’s resolution for the year: No more accepting sexual harassment and inequality at work as normal. It’s not normal. The @TIMESUPNOW Legal Defense Fund will provide subsidized legal support for women in ALL industries who are experiencing sexual harassment, abuse or discrimination. I signed the solidarity letter & donated to the @TIMESUPNOW Legal Defense Fund - you should too! Link in bio. #TIMESUP

A post shared by Brie (@brielarson) on Jan 1, 2018 at 8:05am PST

"Everyone's resolution for the year: No more accepting sexual harassment and inequality at work as normal. It's not normal" actress and Time's Up signatory Brie Larson, won multiple top awards in 2016 for the portrayal of a kidnapping and rape survivor in the 2015 drama Room, wrote on her Instagram account, one of several messages supporting the initiative.

A full list of the signatory is available below.

This article was updated to correct the caption for the image of Kerry Washington, Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes. An earlier version stated that the Time's Up letter referenced in the story was published in The New York Times on January 1, 2017. In fact, it was January 1, 2018.

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