What is the Time’s Up Now movement? Scandal star Kerry Washington, creator Shonda Rhimes lend support to new cause

What is the Time’s Up Now movement? It’s something that you may have seen a little bit of news about in the headlines thanks to hundreds of women in Hollywood standing up in order to support what is set to potentially become a big part of the industry. Everyone from actors to writers to directors is getting behind what can be best described as a culture change and a way for women to get some of the power back in the work force. It comes as many Hollywood power players have been accused of sexual harassment or assault — we’ve already seen several people either dismissed from their positions following the accusations or blacklisted, metaphorically, from some future projects.

The Time’s Up Now movement can be best described as a legal defense fund that has been created in order to help victims of sexual harassment find their voice and be able to have the resources in order to battle those in power, those who refuse to give up and try to ruin careers. Some of these threats are among the reasons why there are some despicable people out there who have gotten away with some of their actions for as long as they have.

There are a number of women who are already taking a stand with this moment already, and they include the likes of Scandal star Kerry Washington, show creator Shonda Rhimes, Big Little Lies star Reese Witherspoon, Gina Rodriguez of Jane the Virgin, and Debra Messing of Will & Grace. You can see just a small spattering of tweets from some of these people below. We applaud these women not just for helping with the cause, but also for unifying and finding a way to launch this at a time when people will be paying attention: The start of the new year. This is a way to get the message out there before anything else in the new year can even happen.

At the time of this writing well over $13 million has been raised for the fund, and we imagine more will be coming after many return to work and start to see the headlines.

What do you think about the Time’s Up Now movement starting on New Year’s Day? Be sure to share in the comments below!

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