Despite protests and mass outrage, the Senate has confirmed accused sexual abuser Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Many Americans were appalled by this decision — including, unsurprisingly, Anita Hill. According to TheWrap, the chair of The Hollywood Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality wrote a letter to the Commission’s 25 members, which includes major studios, TV networks, talent agencies, and unions in the entertainment industry. “We must demonstrate that even when the government shows indifference to bias and inequality, we in our industry promise accountability,” the academic and attorney emphasized.
“We must make it unequivocally clear that if the government is not prepared to protect women from sexual violence, we in our industry will do it ourselves,” Hill urged. She acknowledged, “Throughout our industry, there is a profound sense of betrayal and despair among many that the government no longer cares about protecting their basic rights to be heard and to have their pain recognized as a public concern.”
Hill will be sharing specific proposals for action in the near future, but asked every Commissioner to voice their support. “I am convinced that what we do in the entertainment industry can and will resonate far beyond the precincts of Hollywood. For the sake of what we know is right, let us prove equal to the task,” she said.
In 1991 Hill brought the topic of sexual harassment into the national conversation when, at his Senate confirmation hearings, she testified that Clarence Thomas harassed her when they worked together at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas was eventually confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. “Scandal’s” Kerry Washington portrayed Hill in 2016’s “Confirmation,” an Emmy-nominated HBO movie.
#TimesUp also responded to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Dedicated to creating safe and fair workplaces for women across different industries, the organization addressed the troubling — to say the least — political climate in a conference call, per Vanity Fair. “We’re fortifying. We’re institutionalizing, and we will not rest until we have achieved safe, fair, and dignified work for women everywhere,” said one member.
Another member added, “I think what we saw [during the hearing] perhaps was perverse fuel for the rocket ship here we are calling #TimesUp. So the sensitivity has certainly been raised, which is really helpful, and we expect that the interest will continue to climb as it already has been,” she said. “But it will accelerate, is what I expect will happen.”
The org’s future goals include “getting more women elected to public office, as well as finding ways for both private companies and the government to better process sexual misconduct claims,” according to the source.
