Golden Globe season just ended, and individuals all over the country are cheering the bravery and power of Oprah and Meryl Streep’s respective speeches. Meryl Streep had said in her speech, “when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.” A very simple concept that many people can get behind was given by the same individual who was very close to Harvey Weinstein for a number of years, prompting the hashtag “#SheKnew.” The outrage challenging Meryl Streep’s speech continued in reference to her past standing ovation for Roman Polanski in 2003, a man who was convicted and pled guilty to unlawful intercourse with a 13 year old girl, and was accused of rape twice by a woman who said she was 15 when Polanski violated her. However, after those sickening accusations and him fleeing to escape arrest, Hollywood A-listers still associated with him. When asked about the hypocrisy of Meryl Streep’s actions, Jonathan Evangelista ‘18  says, “The inconsistency amongst the big name Hollywood stars when it comes to sexual harassment is disappointing.”

Others challenged Oprah, as her speech at the ceremony elicited  two simple questions, “Why was there no mention of Harvey Weinstein and why did it take two years for her to speak up?” It is widely known that both Oprah Winfrey and Meryl Streep shared close relationships with the outcast Harvey Weinstein. If everyone in Hollywood knew of these crimes, and that seems quite clear considering how many people decided to speak out about it only recently, then how much does Hollywood really care about women when it took 20 years for even the big time A list names to say anything? One could argue that the given circumstance really shows us what is needed to be a Hollywood star: lights, cameras, and a dash of hypocrisy.

Meryl Streep Creative Commons