The women behind Time's Up first made their mission clear to the world at an award show _ wearing black to the Golden Globes on Jan. 7 in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment and assault. But the leaders of the organization say they have made a conscious choice to "stand down" at this weekend's Academy Awards.
"We are not an awards show protest group," explained filmmaker Ava DuVernay. "So we stand down this time."
Just days before the Oscars, the "Wrinkle in Time" director and a handful of other Time's Up members _ Shonda Rhimes, Laura Dern, Tessa Thompson, Bad Robot co-CEO Katie McGrath and attorney Tina Tchen _ met with about a dozen members of the media on March 1 to discuss what the group has accomplished in its first 60 days.
The meeting, held at the West Hollywood office of publicity firm Sunshine Sachs, lasted roughly an hour as representatives discussed everything from the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund (which has amassed $21 million in donations) to recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Ryan Seacrest.
Yes, the red carpet host was a topic of conversation, with a reporter from Variety _ the outlet that published an extensive interview with Seacrest's accuser earlier this week _ asking whether or not Time's Up members would talk to Seacrest at the Oscars. (Seacrest, who will be on the carpet representing E! News, has strenuously denied all charges made by his former stylist.)
"God, I'd hate for this whole thing to become a sound bite about Ryan Seacrest, I really would," DuVernay said, shaking her head. "It's up to the individuals that are going to be there to do what they're gonna do. There's not an official Time's Up act about this. ... We support people who are bearing witness to what has happened to them, but the bottom line is if you're on the carpet, you make your individual decision about it."
Anyway, insisted "Grey's Anatomy" creator Rhimes, the red carpet doesn't have a whole lot to do with Time's Up.
"It's really important that you know that Time's Up is not about the red carpet," the showrunner told the room. "And those women you saw on the red carpet representing Time's Up [at the Globes] are now off the red carpet working their butts off being activists."
"I think there's really something about the narrative of Time's Up that was really important," agreed DuVernay, "that this not be just capturing the awards show spotlight. It'll happen again, but not this time."
DuVernay also noted the organization had worked with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and "carved out a moment" during the Oscars. (Other recent awards shows, including January's NAACP Image awards and February's British Academy of Film and Television awards, also referenced Time's Up from their stages.) The women declined to give further details, though Dern joked, "There might be a song."
McGrath, meanwhile, admitted that it was "tempting" to stage another massive moment at the telecast _ which attracted nearly 33 million eyeballs on ABC last year. "A really on-the-nose presence might feel satisfying, but we're not sure how much it's translating," she continued. "And we want to make sure that as we move forward, we're being as strategic and thoughtful and authentic in our activations and in our rollout. Again, [we've been around] 60 days _ we don't need to fit everything into it. It's more important to do it right."
"We're also well aware of how much attention people are able to command at certain times," agreed Rimes. "It feels like some of these amazing women have a superpower. And we like to deploy that superpower usefully in an intelligent way and not just because we can."
