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Brave: These Men Wore 'Time's Up' Pins Despite Not Caring About Women

The women of Hollywood used their platforms to address abuse and injustice. The men were...less impressive.
Photos by Steve Granitz via Getty Images

The women of Hollywood and their activist dates killed it last night at the 75th annual Golden Globes. On the red carpet, Debra Messing called out E! for its gender wage gap and Michelle Williams continually redirected the conversation to Tarana Burke, her guest and the creator of the #MeToo movement. In speeches, Laura Dern told the audience to remember "restorative" justice, and Oprah…well, Oprah’ed.

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Less impressive were the men of Hollywood. Many wore pins saying "Time's Up," the name of the recent campaign against workplace harassment launched by hundreds of women in the entertainment industry—but didn't do much more.

The women behind Time’s Up chose the phrase because "the clock has run out on sexual assault, harassment, and inequality in the workplace," and are calling on advocates and allies "to do something about it." But among the people wearing pins were men who have faced accusations of sexual misconduct—a hypocrisy that didn't go unnoticed.

Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen who came forward to allege that Allen sexually abused her as a child, told Buzzfeed on Monday, "The people who join this movement without taking any kind of personal accountability for the ways in which their own words and decisions have helped to perpetuate the culture they are fighting against."

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

It's already pretty insensitive to use your #TimesUp tweet to talk about how hot your wife is, but, even worse, JT proudly starred in Woody Allen's latest movie. Before this year’s ceremony, Dylan Farrow took to Twitter to remind us that it was after the Globes four years ago that she felt compelled to come forward with allegations of abuse against Allen. After the Globes presented Allen with the same Cecil B. DeMille award they gave Oprah this year, Farrow detailed her experience of childhood sexual abuse in The New York Times, hoping he might finally face repercussions. Alas, Allen is still making films—and with your former favorite N*sync member, too.

In her statement on Monday, Farrow directly addressed Timberlake, saying, "I struggle with how a powerful force like Justin Timberlake can claim to be in awe of the strength of women and stand with them at this #MeToo moment and then in the next breath say that working with Woody Allen is a 'dream come true.'"

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Justin has not commented on the allegations against Allen or the backlash he’s facing for attempting to support both an alleged abuser and a campaign working to end abuse.

GARY OLDMAN

Oldman won Best Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour and waxed poetic about Churchill in his acceptance speech—but was notably silent about his Time’s Up pin at the podium. Backstage, the actor mentioned Time’s Up in relation to Churchill, saying, “I’m in solidarity with this #TimesUp movement…[Darkest Hour] illustrates what can come from standing up."

Oldman may have a different idea of standing up than most—as detailed by Ira Madison, in 2011, Oldman’s then-wife Donya Fiorentino claimed that the actor tried to choke her and hit her with a telephone as their crying children watched. Oldman has denied these accusations. He also, in a 2014 interview with Playboy, defended his (and other actors') right to call people cunts and fags. Good looks, Gary, thanks for your pin!

JAMES FRANCO

In 2014, the then-35-year-old Franco was embroiled in a media scandal after screenshots surfaced of messages he sent to a 17-year-old fan, offering to get a room at her hotel and inquiring as to when she turns 18. After the messages became public, the actor said he was "embarrassed" and helpfully followed up with an Instagram post (since deleted) encouraging parents to keep their teens away from him.

Franco didn’t mention Time’s Up in his acceptance speech for The Disaster Artist, and when asked why he chose to wear a Time’s Up pin, the actor gave a generic response: "Whenever any group is treated differently or given less rights or less equality than any other … it’s everyone’s responsibility to stand up and make change."

After Franco's Golden Globes win, three women including actor Ally Sheedy took to Twitter to shine a light on his alleged past behavior. Franco has yet to respond.

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It's worth noting that 101-year-old Kirk Douglas—who has been accused of raping Natalie Wood—received a rousing standing ovation, but even men who haven’t been accused of misconduct were largely silent on the night's theme—both on the red carpet and at the podium. While Seth Rogen managed a minutes-long, circle-jerking introduction to Franco's equally masturbatory movie, he didn't manage to mention Time's Up once. Alexander Skarsgård won an award for his role as a domestic abuser in the women-created series Big Little Lies, and though he sported a pin, he said nothing about the topic. Neither did winners Ewan McGregor, Martin McDonough, and Guillermo del Toro.

The women of Hollywood stepped up and used their platforms to address abuse and injustice. It's time for the men to follow their lead.