SAG Awards Ceremony to Feature Solely Female Presenters

The 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards will only feature female presenters amid the film industry’s widening sexual misconduct scandal, The New York Times reports.

According to SAG Awards executive producer Kathy Connell, the decision to have all-female presenters is a response to the recent sexual abuse scandal that has rocked Hollywood, engulfing some of the most powerful actors and producers in the entertainment industry.

“Beginning with the Women’s March in January, it’s been the year of the woman,” Connell told The Hollywood Reporter. “This is a unifying salute to women who have been very brave and speaking up.”

“How many times has a woman walked into a room of predominantly men? We thought, maybe for one night, it’ll be more than 50/50 [onstage],” she continued. “We don’t want to slight the men who have given great performances this year — knowing our membership, I’m sure our men will embrace the opportunity to honor women.’

“It’s still an awards show and a celebration — we’re not here to preach to anybody,” she added. “To me, just having some of these fabulous women onstage sends its own message.”

The award ceremony, set to take place in January, recognizes outstanding performances in both film and primetime television. Nominations for the award ceremony, which cover both exceptional film and TV, include Big Little Lies, Stranger Things and Lady Bird.

Kristen Bell has already been confirmed as the SAG Awards first-ever host and was quick to point out that it was regardless of her gender.

“I’m not the first female host,” Bell told the New York Times. “I’m the first host. The fact that a female was chosen to be the first one means my genitals become irrelevant.”

Last year’s award ceremony was also dominated by actors making political statements in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven terrorist prone Muslim majority countries. Figures who criticized the ban included Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ashton Kutcher, and Simon Hedberg.

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