Something happened whilst I slept last night. In fact, something amazing happened. Oprah spoke. You see during the night the 75th Golden Globes Awards show aired and it made many statements. Normally one of the biggest things on people’s lips after an awards ceremony is the clothing worn, but this year this narrative has a completely different meaning. Most of the actresses chose to wore black in support of the Time’s Up movement.
Time’s Up
The Time’s Up movement was founded in 2018 to make a statement against sexual harassment in light of the sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other big name male stars in Hollywood. It’s a movement that stemmed organically from the #MeToo movement founded by civil rights activist Tarana Burke in 2006 which was to highlight the extent of sexual abuse and assault in society. Although such a simple move, showing solidarity by wearing black (from both the male and female actresses and producers) speaks loudly that time truly is up for blindly accepting one of the most widely known ‘secrets’ in Hollywood.
Image courtesy of timesupnow.com
The speech
Aside from the clothing, what was said at the awards show was undoubtedly the biggest stand out. If you’ve read any bit of social media over the last few hours (or days depending on when you’re reading this!), you’d have heard that Oprah Winfrey delivered a very moving speech. Oprah is the first black woman to have won the Cecille B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. You may have heard a bit of the speech, or maybe all of it. Well, this morning when I woke up I decided to do a bit of news reading and came across Oprah’s speech. After listening to her speech I found I had a few tears in my eyes. Not because the speech is particularly sad, but more for the fact that so much truth had been spoken and with a lot of power in the words. It also gave me a stir in the spirit that things are definitely changing. I was also very proud to be a woman. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a feminist (simply because I have not invested much into truly understanding what that term really means), but I am all about empowerment. After listening to Oprah’s speech, I felt truly empowered.
If you have not heard the speech I’ve managed to get the transcript of it from the CNN website. So for the sake of referencing, here’s the full speech:
Oprah’s full speech
In 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother’s house in Milwaukee watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for best actor at the 36th Academy Awards. She opened the envelope and said five words that literally made history: “The winner is Sidney Poitier.” Up to the stage came the most elegant man I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white, and of course his skin was black, and I had never seen a black man being celebrated like that. I tried many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl, a kid watching from the cheap seats as my mom came through the door bone tired from cleaning other people’s houses. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation in Sidney’s performance in “Lilies of the Field”:
“Amen, amen, amen, amen.”
In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille award right here at the Golden Globes and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award. It is an honor — it is an honor and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them and also with the incredible men and women who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible. Dennis Swanson who took a chance on me for “A.M. Chicago.” Quincy Jones who saw me on that show and said to Steven Spielberg, “Yes, she is Sophia in ‘The Color Purple.'” Gayle who has been the definition of what a friend is, and Stedman who has been my rock — just a few to name.
I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know the press is under siege these days. We also know it’s the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To — to tyrants and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story.
– Full transcript obtained from CNN.com
Final Thoughts
This speech by Oprah not only spoke truths that needed to be heard, but it also told a story. In fact, many stories were told in this one speech. Not only did we hear Oprah’s story, but that of Sydney Poitier and Recy Taylor. We also heard our own story. The experiences of not just Hollywood stars, but also the story of Susan the teacher, Iyawa the Engineer and Kajal the scientist. It also highlighted that despite the ugliness of hearts, there are still heroes out there. Both men and women can be heroes – ‘magnificent women’ and ‘phenomenal men’. The important thing is that we use this speech to remind us to not accept things as they are. We need to be bold enough to speak up – if not for ourselves, but for those to come.
Let’s remember that sexual harassment and abuse is not just a Hollywood issue. This is an everyday issue that women and men are experiencing – whether that be in Parliament or in school, it’s not an alien occurrence. Making noise about injustice is something that needs to continue until the injustices die. I read a tweet recently which said that instead of wearing black to the Golden Globes, individual’s should have boycotted the awards show. Whilst I can kind of understand why they would suggest this, I don’t necessarily agree. I think attending the awards ceremony was the best thing to do, especially as this is one of the first major ceremonies to occur since the sexual harassment allegations had been brought to light. This was a perfect opportunity for Hollywood to come together to make that collective stand.
Whilst I’ve not given any ground-breaking revelations in my assessment of the Oprah speech, I just wanted to jot down some thoughts I’ve had running through my mind the whole day today. If you haven’t already read some of Oprah’s work in the past, check out her book What I know for sure for a truly inspirational read.
Oprah for President, anyone?!
Having now read the speech, what are your thoughts? Let me know below! Why not also take a look at this post for some more inspiration this year.
Speak soon
Victoria x
Her speech was incredible, I’ve already watched it twice today! It felt like a presidential speech, imagine!!
Author
We can only imagine a world where Oprah is President! x
What a lovely time for her to win this award when her spirit meets the time when a majority of America is ready to accept, “speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”
Author
A very timely speech! x
Such a beautiful speech. Brought so much emotion!
Author
It truly is! x
Operah is amazing anyway!! Thank you for sharing xx0
Author
You’re welcome! x
Wow Oprah – you can always count on her to speak the truth in the most powerful way possible! I missed this so thanks for sharing x
Author
You’re welcome!
She is such an inspirational woman and that speech just confirmed it! She’s able to influence and make changes on a level not many can 🙂
Author
Definitely!
Thanks for printing the whole speech, I only saw the tail end of it. It is a very moving speech and it was great to see everyone in the room clapping and nodding with her, however what I want to see is real change. The story of women and men being abused and exploited in Hollywood seems to be never ending, so I hope that all those in support of this movement will actually do something to prevent it from happening time and time again. Oprah is an inspiration for anyone but she is not a mountain and it takes more than one great lady to speak up.
Author
I think they’ve already started to do things – of course only time will tell though!
Fantastic speech. I do feel we as a a turning point for change in our society and these kinds of speeches will go a long way to help.
Author
I agree! x
Very inspirational speech. Not to mention, Oprah is a strong orator too. Every time I listen to her speech, I feel so motivated and inspired. Thanks for sharing this with us !!
Author
No worries!
Thanks for sharing her speech I didn’t hear or watch all of it so it was really great to read the whole thing! It’s so inspiring and really highlights the injustice in Hollywood right now x
Author
It truly is an inspiring speech!
I missed her speech so I have just read it for the first time here and it is fantastic. Such an inspirational woman x
Author
So good! x
It was an incredible speech! I had tears in my eyes too.
Author
Glad I wasn’t the only one!
I haven’t gotten a chance to watch the speech, but have read many articles and social media posts on it and I truly think it is inspiring. Without even watching it I am inspired.
XOXO
Jordan K.
Author
Definitely watch it when you get a chance! x
Oprah is a truly inspirational woman and no better one for making a speech like that in such a setting. I’m glad everyone attended the awards instead of boycotting them as they could use it as a platform to highlight the #TimesUp movement!
Author
Totally agree! x
Great post! Thanks so much for showing the full speech. Oprah is simply such an amazing woman, so inspiring!
Author
No problem!
I remember watching this speech on my phone that morning and I knew it would be one of those speeches that would go down in history. I think it’s important not to boycott events like this because in a way you’ll be remaining silent and in this time, is when we all need to speak up, if that makes sense. Just re-reading her speech in your post here gave me the same chills I did when I watched her speak those words.
Author
The speech was just so on point. To have boycott the ceremony would have meant these words would not have been heard x
While I don’t think Auntie Oprah should run for president, I do agree that her speech was beautiful and inspiring. We need more women like her to step up and lead from the classroom to the boardroom, from the director’s seat to the Senate floor and the White House.
Author
Definitely! x
Oh god I would LOVE Oprah as president!! Can you image? I feel like that would be incredible. I loved Oprah’s speech as well, the next day I was with a group of women at lunch and everyone was talking about it so it obviously (and thankfully) made an impact. I also think that people were right to go to the awards instead of completely boycotting them, I think the Times Up movement and the wearing black was the right way to go. Although, I’d be interested in knowing who didn’t wear black…?
Julia // The Sunday Mode
A good speech can be inspiring and people around them will be influenced. Oprah is such a person.