Survivors of sexual harassment or assault are speaking out in epidemic proportions.
The #MeToo campaign on social media, which Alyssa Milano sparked on Sunday, prompted reactions from celebrities such as Evan Rachel Wood, Sophia Bush, Rosario Dawson, Lady Gaga, Debra Messing, Anna Paquin, Gabrielle Union and hundreds of thousands more — most who aren’t famous.
“If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet,” Milano tweeted, saying the hashtag idea was “suggested by a friend” who noted that getting many voices to chime in with the status “might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”
Yet the movement began more than a decade ago by Tarana Burke, an organizer and assault survivor herself who told Ebony on Monday that she started it as a grassroots effort to help victims in underprivileged communities “where rape crisis centers and sexual assault workers weren’t going.”
She said, “The issue of sexual assault is “bigger than Harvey Weinstein. It’s bigger than Bill Cosby. It’s bigger than R. Kelly. And we have to let young people know that healing is possible … that joy is possible. It’s our job as adults and our job for each other.”
Meanwhile, “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik is facing backlash for a New York Times editorial in which she mentioned that she has chosen to “dress modestly” and avoid acting “flirtatiously with men as a policy” — that some (including actress Patricia Arquette) have called out as “victim-blaming.”
OPRAH’S SUPER SOUL
Oprah Winfrey launched her new book “Wisdom of Sundays,” a collection of insights from conversations she’s had with “thought leaders” on the OWN show “Super Soul Sunday” with a star-studded gospel brunch at her home in Montecito.
The guest list included Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alicia Keys, Mindy Kaling, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes, Angela Bassett, Jon Bon Jovi, Kerry Washington, Bob Iger, Jeff Bezos, Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, George Lucas, David Foster, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg; Bebe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Erica Campbell and Andra Day performed.
QUICK TAKES
In recognition of the anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake (on Oct. 17, 1989), the Smithsonian Channel’s upcoming episode of “Make It Out Alive” airing at 9 p.m. Oct. 22 features stories of heroism and comments from San Francisco firefighter Gerry Shannon, East Bay firefighters Tim Petersen and Andy Papp and reporter Kevin Fagan.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Actress Felicity Jones is 34. … Rapper Eminem is 45. … Singer Wyclef Jean of The Fugees is 48. … Singer Ziggy Marley is 49.. … Animator Mike Judge is 55. … Singer Alan Jackson is 59. … Actor George Wendt is 69. … Actor Michael McKean is 70. … Singer Gary Puckett of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap is 75. …Singer Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts is 75.
— Staff, wire reports
