Hashtags, Greys, & the Golden Globes
Everyone knows it’s a famous American pastime to poke fun at celebrities. What fun is it being part of a lower socioeconomic class if you can’t occasionally light the blaze on the one percent? So, how did the chitter-chatter get started this time, you ask? We can thank the seventy-fifth Golden Globes ceremony which was held on January 7th, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.
Considering the plethora of sexual assault charges coming to light in Hollywood in recent news, celebs made quite the bang by wearing black to show their solidarity with SA victims. They also sported classy, little black and white pins boasting the phrase “Time’s Up,” a movement created to help fight sexual misconduct and to let powerful abusers know that their behaviors will no longer be tolerated. While the endeavor was pretty successful in raising awareness overall, no social and political movement can survive the spotlight without a few hiccups.
Justin & Jessica via NY Daily News
Before applause for the evening’s trophy winners ceased, social media gnomes came rushing out of the woodwork to criticize certain celebs for hypocrisy, suggesting that some claim to support victims yet continue to work alongside the accused thus benefiting from a corrupt system. Beloved ‘N Sync star Justin Timberlake was among those who came under fire.
Justin snapped a photo with wifey Jessica Biel, both clad in black, with the hashtag #timesup and posted it to Twitter shortly before the ceremony. In the aforementioned image, the clean, white letters of his SA pin glint brightly against his charcoal tie. While Jessica raved on camera about Justin’s ability to “hold down the home” while she worked on her latest film, members of the social media community felt it was more apropos to call Justin out on working with Woody Allen. The former ‘N Sync star’s recent film Wonder Wheel (directed by Allen) was released in just December of 2017.
Now, if you’re not familiar with Woody Allen’s sexual assault accusations, they pretty much go like this: In 1992, Allen’s adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow (now writer and SA victim advocate) accused her father of molesting her in the attic. No charges were ever officially pressed, but the guy did go on to marry his other adoptive daughter so there’s that. Thus, at present both Justin fans and haters alike are asking: how does J man show solidarity with assault victims while either denying or ignoring Farrow’s testimony by working with Allen? Justin might have just put himself on blast, yet again. How many times has he been criticized for the way he utilized his breakup with legendary popstar Britney Spears to drive his career and for hanging Janet Jackson out to dry in the Nipplegate scandal back in 2004? See the Buzzfeed article “Dear Justin – Please Just Fucking Stop” by reporter Matt Stopera to see what I mean. It seems like the Twitter gremlins may have a point here. Don’t even get them started on Franco.
Now, let’s take a look on the flipside at the feedback dealt to Justin’s female counterpart. Jessica Biel was invited to the 2018 Golden Globes as a nominee for her role in The Sinner. However, in contrast to the feedback Justin received regarding his personal character, actions, and morals, the focus of all too many articles on the morning of January eighth was Jessica’s hair. Yes, that’s correct, her flipping hair. Apparently when you hit thirty-five and have a kid, some grey hairs creep in. Okay. All right. But why is this mild sign of aging the focal point of Jessica’s night?
In a widely criticized article from Someecards, Leah Prinzivalli suggests Jessica is going “prematurely gray.” The article is titled “Jessica Showed Off her Gray Hair at the Golden Globes. Or She Forgot to Get Her Roots Done.” No one said a thing about Justin’s growing crow’s feet though.
Jessica Biel on her Instagram via Daily Mail.
Anyways, I couldn’t help but notice while scrolling my feed that these were the kinds of articles streaming about the hitched Hollywood pair. One story commanded importance (whether SA supporters are genuine and really helping the cause) and the other, was purely asinine. One comment I read about Biel even claimed that the supposed grey hairs may have been “glints of light.” As if that could be her saving grace for rejecting impossible female beauty standards. I bet she’s somewhere elegant right now, drinking a glamorous glass of wine, and wondering why people are more interested in her hair than the exhausting work she apparently put into the film that won her an invite to the Golden Globes.
It’s all good though. Other articles about Biel by Bustle.com, Style Nine, and KYXY radio used words like “unapologetic,” “elegant,” “rocks” and “flaunts” to describe Jessica’s choice to go natural. So progress is being made regarding women’s beauty standards I guess. The focus on Jessica’s hair as opposed to her value as a human being (the focus Justin got) just goes to show why the world needs more feminism. We, as a society, still aren’t getting it. We ought to take sexual assault charges seriously and we ought to give stories of equal weight to men and women in the media. I hope one day to be a silver fox myself, but I really hope I am better known for my writing.