Like many of the women who came dressed in black to the Golden Globes, a wardrobe of solidarity was only the most superficial part of Debra Messing"s agenda for the evening.
She is now being hailed as one of the evening"s most satisfying highlights. Why?
As you"ll see in the video below, Debra Messing calls out E!"s alleged gender pay gap … while being interviewed by E!.
Sunday night"s Golden Globes were huge.
Oprah delivered a powerful speech that everyone is still talking about.
Oprah, Aziz Ansari, and Sterling K. Brown all made history with their respective awards — some long, long overdue milestones.
In her role as a presenter, Natalie Portman dragged the "all-male nominees" for Best Director, highlighting the bizarre gender gap and the women who were robbed for recognition of their incredible work.
Debra Messing didn"t wait until the ceremony to grab people"s attention.
She made her stand on the red carpet.
Speaking to Giuliana Rancic, Debra Messing had a lot to say about the #TimesUp movement (which grew out of #MeToo).
"…Its time is up. We want diversity. We want intersectional gender parity. We want equal pay."
Those are all wonderful things! It"s great that she"s one of countless people demanding change in Hollywood.
And speaking of that whole equal pay thing …
"I was shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female co-host the same as their male co-host."
Oh wow.
"I miss Catt Sadler, so we stand with her. And that’s something that can change tomorrow."
See, just last month, Catt Sadler quit working at E! over an alleged pay gap issue.
She apparently learned that, though she"d worked at E! for 12 years, her cohost Jason Kennedy was earning about twice her salary, and that he"d been making that much for years.
The pay gap happens in all kinds of industries, folks. It can happen in entertainment news and anywhere else.
Many people hope that E! will make a fair offer to Catt Sadler that will allow her to return to work with dignity.
No one doubts that Jason Kennedy is worth what he"s making; they just want for Catt Sadler to be paid what she deserves.
And, by extension, for all women to be paid what they deserve rather than what employers believe that they can get away with.
For the record, Debra Messing was not the only star on E!"s red carpet speaking out about Catt Sadler.
Eva Longoria, gorgeous and pregnant, told Ryan Seacrest:
"We support gender equity and equal pay, and we hope that E! follows that lead with Catt as well. We stand with you, Catt."
The fact that so many actresses wore black in solidarity and spoke about such important issues is a real sign of progress.
That is not to say that the Golden Globes went off without a hitch, however.
One subject of continuing controversy is creepy James Franco winning a Golden Globe when his reputation is sketchy at best.
In fact, his win on that night of all nights was enough for one actress to hint at sexual misconduct. Others have chimed in, alleging things like an interest in underage teens.
So yes, Hollywood — like the rest of the world — has a long way to go before everything"s as it should be.
But progress can only be made when people speak out. Thank you, Debra Messing.
See her call out E! right to E!"s cameras here:
