Some of Hollywood’s most powerful executives are funding a new commission to fight sexual harassment. They’ve appointed a well-known figure to run the commission: Anita Hill.
Some of the biggest influencers in the entertainment industry are joining forces to combat sexual misconduct in Hollywood by forming “the commission on sexual harassment and advancing equality in the workplace.”
“This was the big unveiling,” said Matt Belloni, the editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter. He said the commission grew from a meeting called by “Star Wars” producer Kathleen Kennedy.
“Kathleen Kennedy is a major figure within the Walt Disney Company and I think that was the key to getting some of these big CEOs on board,” Belloni said.
Anita Hill applauds at the Anita Hill and Fatima Goss Graves Discussion on Harassment at United Talent Agency on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
The long list of supporters includes top executives at Paramount, CBS, Disney, Netflix and Amazon as well as the leaders of high-powered talent agencies. And it will be chaired by Anita Hill.
“I never believed 1991 was the end,” Hill said.
Hill became a national figure when she accused then-Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, of sexual harassment. She recently spoke in Beverly Hills at an event supporting the #MeToo movement.
“Everybody who has participated in this movement and will somehow step up and make it how we should have been it 26 years ago,” Hill said.
The commission’s formation, follows a cascade of sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood that began with accusations from dozens women, against movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein.
“This is by far the most aggressive step we’ve seen,” Belloni said. “This is the one that they’re going to put forth as a code of conduct for the industry to help combat the this issue … The accountability question is the key question here because it’s all talk until there are consequences for this behavior,” Belloni said.
Members of the new commission told CBS News they aren’t doing interviews yet. But they plan to reconvene early next year and say more announcements will be coming.
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