Lady Gaga and her nonprofit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, has announced the return of the #BeKind21 campaign, encouraging people across the globe to participate in random acts of kindness.
Shonda Rhimes, Meryl Streep, and other A-listers have given back to Time’s Up, a new campaign in the entertainment industry to battle harrassment and sexism.
Shonda and Meryl, along with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, each donated $500,000 to the cause through GoFundMe. The organization is raising money for its legal defense fund, which will provide subsidized assistance to both women and men who suffer sexual harassment, assault or abuse while at work, regardless what industry they work in.
“Earning a living should not come at the cost of anyone’s safety, dignity or morale,” said Shonda. “Every person should get to work in an environment free from abuse, assault and discrimination.”
Time’s Up officially launched on Jan. 1, with hopes to “address the systemic power imbalances that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential.” Other donors include Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg through their Wunderkinder Foundation, Star Trek creator JJ Abrams, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Emma Stone and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg.
It’s truly a powerful campaign that is already sweeping the nation, with almost $15 million in donations already stacked up! It’s important too, because many people (both women and men) face some kind of harassment or oppression on their jobs, often with nowhere to turn.
Victims in the entertainment industry may have started speaking up recently, but this goes on everywhere, and has been for a long time. Thankfully, a lot of people are backing Time’s Up, and I hope that this campaign is able to help better combat this issue in the workplace!
Imperfectly B 