Anyone who has followed the news on Times Up in recent weeks has heard of the turmoil in the organization because of the “Cuomo” case. First the chairwoman of Time’s Up and the co-founder of its legal defense fund, Roberta Kaplan, and later CEO Tina Tchen resigned from their positions for trying to minimize and silence the complaints of some of the alleged victims. The entire governing board of directors resigned last week, and this weekend Nina Shaw, co-founder of the foundation, announced that the Global Leadership Board was also being dissolved. Natalie, Reese Witherspoon or Jessica Chastain were part of this group of 71 members who basically acted as “ambassadors” and advisers to the movement. In addition to then, the board members included Janelle Monae, Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, Padma Lakshmi, Laura Dern, America Ferrera, Kerry Washington, Tarana Burke, Alyssa Milano, Gretchen Carlson, Amy Schumer and Julianne Moore.
According to Variety, Nina Shaw wrote:
“This is notice to you that effective immediately, Time’s Up has dissolved the Global Leadership Board. There is no need for your individual resignations, as the group no longer exists.”
Shaw sent a follow-up email to the members later that evening, apologizing for the “hasty communication,” and acknowledging that the “abruptness caught many of you by surprise.”
“The goal behind a quick dissolution of the GLB was to shield all of you from unfair scrutiny,” she wrote. “We didn’t think it was possible to have the meeting with the entire GLB ahead of the decision, but we also realize that much nuance was lost in the communication.”
Shaw added that Time’s Up plans to rebuild, “hopefully with the collaboration of many of its founders and stakeholders.”
“You have all given your time, energy, hearts and resources to building this organization, and your voices are crucial as Time’s Up begins its next chapter,” she wrote.
Time’s Up was formed in late 2017 in response to increasingly visible stories of sexual assault and misconduct committed by powerful figures in the entertainment industry, and Natalie was one of the four hundred celebrities who drove the movement. She has not had the opportunity to give her opinion on everything that happened yet, but it is to be assumed that we will soon know her opinion on the matter in the coming months….
