In the wake of the #MeToo movement, music industry professionals will honour Time's Up at the 2018 Grammys on Sunday, January 28 via a white rose.
According to Billboard, Roc Nation executive Meg Harkins and Karen Rait, who works at Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records, have decided to organise a way for those in attendance at "Music's Biggest Night" to show solidarity against sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace, á la the sea of black dresses at the Golden Globes earlier this month. The duo has brought together a dozen or so other women who are calling themselves "voices in entertainment." Harkins tells Billboard that the group will wear a white rose to this year's event, a move that pays homage to the suffragettes, who, led by Susan B. Anthony, fought to get (only) white women the right to vote. It's also the colour Hillary Clinton wore to Donald J. Trump's presidential inauguration.
The recent #MeToo movement has empowered women and men to step forward about sexual harassment in Hollywood. Stars like Rose McGowan, Reese Witherspoon, and Lupita Nyong'o have all spoken out about experiencing sexual misconduct while working in the industry, sparking the creation of Time's Up, an initiative dedicated to defending vulnerable people from harassment. The organisation created a defence fund to help survivors of sexual assault and harassment voice their truth without fear of financial repercussions, and will push for legislation that can help bridge gender inequality in the workplace and hit back at companies who protect harassers.
Thus far, Halsey, Rapsody, Kelly Clarkson, Cyndi Lauper, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, and Tom Morella will reportedly wear white roses on the red carpet. "Music artists have a lot of impact," Rait tells Billboard, "so it's only fitting that that music's biggest night show the support for equality and safety in the workplace and that people need to be cognisant of their fellow employes."
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