On Thursday night, hosts Olivia Munn and Niecy Nash continued the 2018 award show season's unofficial motto of "not taking shit" by kicking off the Critics Choice Awards with a tongue-in-cheek toast to the men of Hollywood, that ended up perfectly calling out the egregiousness of the situation women have been in for so long — like the fact that the "good guys" only have to do basic things like not force women to meet with them in hotel rooms, or treat them horribly if they turn them down for a date.
Then, Munn touched on the latest Hollywood hot topic: the fact that Mark Wahlberg was paid so much more than co-star Michelle Williams during reshoots of All The Money In The World (which had to do reshoots because original star Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct — isn't this a fun nesting doll of terror!)
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"I do want to say thank you to the producers for paying Niecy and I the same amount of money and Mark Wahlberg $1 million," she said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "He took a pay cut, so that’s really nice and generous of him. Thank you so much."
That wasn't the only person Munn has called out. Ahead of the show, Munn spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her plans for hosting, and the disappointing response men in Hollywood have had to #MeToo, like the fact that comedian Dave Chappelle called a Louis C.K. accuser "weak."
"When you're talking about women who are physically or sexually violated, and on top of that, pushed out of our business — whether it's people stopping opportunities for them, or the experience of having to watch their abuser continue to flourish scours them from this business — then it's in poor taste, and it's really tone deaf to the experiences of others," she told the outlet. "And I think especially Chappelle, as a minority, should show more empathy for the experience of other people who are abused and belittled and pushed down."
Munn herself has been an active part of the movement after she was one of six women who came forward in November 2017 to accuse director Brett Ratner of sexual harassment and assault. While the movement has certainly been effective, it doesn't mean Munn is satisfied.
"If you ask me, now, do I feel good? Do I feel like I have justice? No," she told the LA Times. "I'm thankful that we're in this moment where our voices actually matter. But I don’t feel like there’s actually an awakening of consciousness in Hollywood. There’s an understanding that there will be backlash in the marketplace and to their bottom line if they don’t make these big announcements. They aren't woke; they're scared."
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The fact that perpetrators have gotten away with this behavior for so long means we have to work doubly as hard to not just scare them away from it, but to truly help them understand why it's not okay. Luckily, people like Munn and Nash are doing an incredible job.
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