8 Actresses on How #MeToo and Time’s Up Have Brought Women in Hollywood Closer Together

“It’s been extraordinary!” said Allison Janney, who won a SAG award for her role in I, Tonya. “Going to work every day at Mom with all these incredible women I get to act with—everyone sharing their stories and talking about this. I love that everyone is talking about it,” Janney said. “It is a watershed moment.”

“It’s very black and white right now,” she added, “and I think there’s a lot of grey area that everyone’s trying to define…. I think there’s a new national safe word, which is, ‘I’m uncomfortable.’ That is something that should transcend every single industry.”

“I really am encouraged by all the conversations going on, because that’s going to affect change,” she continued. “Going to the Women’s March yesterday and hearing Viola Davis speak, hearing Rob Reiner speak, it was really inspiring. I think we’re going to see a really mobilized population come the midterms. Hopefully more things will change and get back to the America that I thought was great.”

Susan Kelechi Watson, who also won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for her role on This Is Us, said she’s been overwhelmed by the number of anecdotal experiences that people around her have shared since the cultural mood shifted last fall.

“I’ve actually heard so many [stories],” said Kelechi Watson. “It’s such a powerful thing to be able to tell the truth about it and finally release something. And I believe that things will change because of it. That there’s an awareness now. There’s repercussions to it. We’re teaching the culture that it’s not okay.”

“I’m honored to support the movement,” agreed Kelechi’s This Is Us co-star Mandy Moore. “I think we all feel encouraged by the momentum forward and that it’s an ongoing conversation, and that we all can participate and be an agent of change.”

Alexandra Breckenridge, who also shared in the This Is Us victory, said such conversations had been happening privately among her colleagues for the last decade, but that having them publicly has created a seismic shift that’s disrupted the established system.

“I think a lot of women have been scared to come out with the stories that they have,” said Breckenridge. “I’m so impressed by the courage that all of these women have, to be able to openly share. It’s not an easy thing to talk about, being in any kind of abusive situation—it’s hurtful and it’s private. I’ve very impressed that women are having the courage to openly talk about it because they know that change needs to happen.”

“I think every woman that I know had experienced some sort of sexual harassment when this movement started,” said GLOW actress Britt Baron. “It’s crazy how systematic this oppression has been. I think up until this moment, no one was talking about it, so it’s really exciting to be on a show with all women in the cast, women producers, women writers, women behind the camera. It’s an incredibly empowering, inspiring movement, and I hope there are more shows like GLOW telling women’s stories.”

The Detour star Natalie Zea said that the shared public pro-women sentiment has been a tonic to her, having often been one of the few women on set.

“I don’t really get to work with women as much as I’d like to because in the past it’s always been the male antagonist and the villain, and then their cohorts, and then, ‘Oh, there’s a wife,’” said Zea. “So I’ve had the privilege to work with so many incredible men, but very, very few women in my career. When I go do something like this and get to be surrounded by all these incredible beautiful, talented, funny, smart women, I don’t even know what to do with it!”

Stranger Things star Natalia Dyer said the shared experiences have unified actresses who are too often put in competition with one another.

“There’s something in Hollywood that sometimes can pit girls against girls, women against women, in a strange and very subversive way,” said Dyer. “I think this movement has really allowed for me, and hopefully other people, to be like, ‘We’re on the same team, we don’t have to compete in this way.’ I think there is that bonding that’s really lovely, just fills the room with a warm vibe—you can feel that solidarity.”

For veteran actress Rita Moreno, female unity in the industry is a cause she’s long championed, and she’s thrilled to see it embraced by a new generation.

“I’ve always been close with women,” said Moreno. “I love women, so this is nothing new for me. [But] it is astonishing. More than anything, it is very moving, because as I see it, the more young women begin to respect themselves and understand that they have value, the larger this movement becomes. And that is so hopeful. It’s wonderful.”