The first guest on E! Live From the Red Carpet at Sunday’s Golden Globes was Debra Messing, and she wasted no time questioning host Giuliana Rancic about her network’s policy on gender pay equality.
Both women were dressed in black, a last-minute sweeping fashion choice made in solidarity to stand up against sexual harassment and sexual assault, and to promote equality.
Telling viewers that the night will be filled with talk about the Time’s Up initiative launched by 300 prominent Hollywood women, Rancic explained a big change in their red carpet coverage to viewers and Messing: “We’re not asking who are you wearing, we’re asking why are you wearing black tonight?”
Messing said the fashion choice is to stand in solidarity with her sisters all over the globe and to honor the brave women who have come forward to share their stories of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination. She then turned talk to former E! News host Catt Sadler, who revealed recently that she had left the network after learning she made less than half the salary of her male counterpart, Jason Kennedy.
“Time is up. We want diversity. We want intersectional gender parity, we want equal pay,” Messing told Rancic. “I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I miss Catt Sadler, and so we stand with her. And that’s something that can change tomorrow. We want people to start having this conversation that women are just as valuable as men.”
Rancic said she agreed before turning the conversation back to the Time’s Up initiative and legal defense fund (which has already raised $15 million since its Jan. 1 launch), where Messing stressed their mission of equal representation in every global industry.
Debra Messing calls out E! while on E!: “I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believing in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I miss Cat Sadler.” pic.twitter.com/dnqoMkh7YY
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) January 7, 2018
This article was originally published on The Hollywood Reporter.