LOS ANGELES: Seth Meyers is known for weaving comedy into his treatment of hard-line news on his nightly talk show, but as the host of Sunday’s Golden Globes, he has the unenviable task of setting the tone for Hollywood’s awards season as the sexual harassment crisis continues spreading throughout the industry and beyond.
Meyers signed on for the job after the scandal broke last year, so he knew what he was getting into.
“And my first instinct was, ‘Oh this is probably not the most fun year to do this,’” he said. But the creative team at “Late Night with Seth Meyers” excels at addressing current events with humor and accuracy, he said, and they are working with him to write material for the Globes.
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot, Saoirse Ronan, Mary J. Blige and Allison Janney will all be dressed in black at the ceremony as part of a planned anti-harassment protest, and all three voiced their support for a new initiative, Time’s Up, that’s aimed at supporting women who bring complaints.
“I am one of those women, so, you know, I don’t want to go into detail about that and I haven’t, but I am, and I stand with those women. I champion them,” Blige said Tuesday at the Palm Springs International Film Festival awards.
Blige, who earned a Globe nomination for her supporting role in “Mudbound,” said the Time’s Up campaign and the wear-black protest are important “because there’s so many women that don’t get a chance to speak in other industries that are not the film industry, the music industry. It’s important for us to stand up for them so they can get a chance to speak.”
Janney isn’t sure what dress she’ll wear, but she’s certain it will be black.
“I think that will be really powerful,” she said. “I will be in a black dress and be proud to be standing there with the other actresses.”
Janney, a supporting actress nominee for “I, Tonya,” also stands with Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, Jennifer Aniston and hundreds of other Hollywood women who formed the Time’s Up coalition, launched Monday with an open letter vowing support for women in the entertainment business and beyond — janitors to health care workers.
The organization, which dovetails with the Me Too movement, will include a legal defense fund and will advocate for legislation combating workplace harassment. Time’s Up also is backing the call for women to wear black, in solidarity with those who have been sexually harassed, at the Golden Globes ceremony.
Dozens of men have faced harassment and assault allegations in recent months, including Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose and Kevin Spacey.
The Golden Globes will be broadcast live on NBC.