Emma Watson Helps Launch the Time’s Up Movement in the UK With a $1.4 Million Donation

Since its launch on January 1, 2018, the Time’s Up initiative against sexual harassment has gained significant attention through its presence at major Hollywood events like the Golden Globes. Now, the movement is going global, and Emma Watson is helping to kickstart the UK version with a whopping $1.4 million donation.

Watson is just one of the more than 200 women in the British entertainment industry who launched the UK’s Justice and Equality Fund this weekend. Saoirse Ronan, Keira Knightley, Jodie Whittaker, Carey Mulligan, Emma Thompson, and others signed their names to the open-letter announcement in The Guardian, and many stars wore black on the BAFTAs red carpet in support of the movement. As seen on the Go Fund Me page, Watson contributed £1,000,000 (approximately $1.4 million USD), and was one of the first donors to the fund.

“All of us are responsible for creating change, whatever industry you work in,” the Beauty and the Beast star wrote in an Instagram post about the new initiative. “We’re asking everyone to help create a world we can be proud of — one that is safe, just, and equal. Please join us and donate to the new Justice and Equality Fund, which will support frontline organizations that are working to end a culture where harassment and abuse are commonplace.”

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All of us are responsible for creating change, whatever industry you work in. We're asking everyone to help create a world we can be proud of - one that is safe, just and equal. Please join us and donate to the new Justice and Equality Fund, which will support frontline organisations that are working to end a culture where harassment and abuse are commonplace. Together we can spread our message, support the strong people of all genders who are taking such personal risks, and make sure that this is one of those watershed moments in history where things never go back to the way they were before. This is the moment we stand together and say. #TIMESUP. We hope you’ll stand with us.

A post shared by Emma Watson (@emmawatson) on Feb 18, 2018 at 7:33pm PST

Similar to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in the US, the new Justice and Equality Fund will work toward “personal, social, legal, and policy changes that will ensure everyone can feel safe at work, at play, and at home,” and it aims to do this through proper education in the workplace, supporting victims financially through legal funds, and ongoing advocacy and prevention.

Watson said in a video posted to her Instagram that she’s passionate about making the movement global. “Together we can spread our message, support the strong people of all genders who are taking such personal risks, and make sure that this is one of those watershed moments in history where things never go back to the way they were before,” she said. “This is the moment we stand together and say #TIMESUP.”

Are you glad to see Time’s Up’s message going global? Let us know @BritandCo.

(photo via Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)