On Sunday 7 January Hollywood’s A-listers will walk the red carpet at the 75th annual Golden Globes awards but instead of the usual sea of colour, there will be just one colour.
Black.
The silent protest has been organised in support of the women and men who have spoken out in the past few months over the culture of sexual harassment and assault that has been swept under Hollywood’s carpet for decades, as well as those women and men in other industries who do not have the power, money, or clout to stand up to their predators,
But why black, and why not protest the entire industry by boycotting the event?
‘We decided we didn’t want to boycott, because there were a lot of our peers who were being nominated,’ Kerry Washington revealed.
A member of the new initiative Times Up, which aims to promote safety and equality in the workplace, by highlighting legislation, corporate policies and resources for other females to follow, Washington told the LA Times that the group decided it ‘was stronger to participate, but make sure we had a public sign of support’.
So in came the decision to wear all black.
Not everyone has been happy with the idea though; Rose McGowan famously slammed Meryl Streep for planning to take part in the silent protest, with McGowan – who has been an outspoken critic of many who she believes continue to play a role in the problems within Hollywood – taking to social media to criticise the actresses planning their silent protest as being part of the problem.
‘Actresses, like Meryl Streep, who happily worked for The Pig Monster, are wearing black @GoldenGlobes in a silent protest,’ she tweeted in a now-deleted tweet.
‘YOUR SILENCE is THE problem. You’ll accept a fake award breathlessly & affect no real change. I despise your hypocrisy. Maybe you should all wear Marchesa.’
Marchesa is the fashion label designed by Georgina Chapman, who was married to Weinstein; since the allegations over his decades-long harassment and assault of women emerged, she has filed for divorce.
It’s not just the ladies who will be involved though, with stylist Ilaria Urbinati, whose clients include Rami Malek, Donald Glover, Chris Evans, Bradley Cooper, and Tom Hiddleston, revealing on Instagram that ‘the men WILL be standing in solidarity with women on this wearing-all-black movement to protest against gender inequality’.
Dwayne Johnson later also confirmed he would be wearing all black by commenting on the post.
The conversation is one that will continue on past the Golden Globes on Sunday night, and one that Bafta and Academy Awards bosses will be keeping a close eye on.
‘I never thought in my lifetime that we would be talking about the things we’re talking about in terms of sexual harassment and abuse of power,’ said Allison Janney at the annual Bafta tea in Los Angeles on Saturday.
‘I think those things have been around since the beginning of time and not just in our industry. It’s pervasive in every single industry.’
More: Film
And that’s why the likes of Washington, Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes and more are calling on everyone to get involved by asking even those of us showbiz fans lazing at home watching for a glimpse of the red carpet fun to wear and use the hashtag #WhyWeWearBlack.
‘Wearing black is an opportunity to talk about all the other things that we’re doing,’ added Washington.
‘It’s less about trying to reclaim the red carpet — the red carpet is what it it. We’re saying that we are three-dimensional, fully realized human beings as women. We are participants in this entertainment industry, and we have something to say.’
MORE: Evan Rachel Wood calls on Golden Globes attendees to ‘make a circle around’ predators
MORE: Inside the Golden Globes 2018 parties as A-listers prepare for the big night
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