The board of Time’s Up says all of its members will be replaced after the organization’s then-CEO was caught advising disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) as women accused him of sexual harassment.
Former CEO Tina Tchen (pictured, second from right) fled the board last month after taking flack for her staunch support of Cuomo. Tchen was not running the women’s advocacy group while speaking out for Cuomo, but when the organization found out that the former Michelle Obama aide was actually advising Cuomo on how to weather his sexual harassment storm, that was the final straw.
Nearly the entire board is resigning, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Gone are Shonda Rhimes (pictured, far left), Eva Longoria (pictured, far right), Jurnee Smollett (pictured, third from left), Katie McGrath (wife to JJ Abrams — pictured, second from left), Christy Haubegger, Hilary Rosen, Michelle Kydd, and Time’s Up’s interim board chair Nina Shaw.
Only Colleen DeCourcy, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, Ashley Judd (pictured, third from right), and Gabrielle Sulzberger will remain to “ensure a smooth transition,” the group’s statement read on Saturday. The group added that the few remaining board members would step down thirty days after a new board is seated.
“Time’s Up was created to support the goal of safe, fair, dignified work for all women,” the statement says. “It is crucial to us as a board that the organization remain in service to this seismic, global work to demand equity and disrupt systems that foster discrimination, harassment, and abuse. We see the current crisis within TIME’S UP as an important opportunity for growth and change.”
The group promises a top-to-bottom assessment will be conducted into the group’s operations once the new board takes control.
“Time’s Up belongs to all women. Its mission must continue – until we live in a world in which no woman ever needs to say #timesup again,” the statement adds.
Some of the group’s detractors are not yet satisfied that the group is headed toward reforming itself. For instance, Time’s Up Healthcare co-founder Monica McLemore wrote “Good riddance” upon hearing the news.
However, Alison Turkos, one of the leaders who organized a “ survivor’s letter” and a call for Time’s Up to be brought to an accounting for its actions, was cautiously hopeful. “These resignations are a step in the right direction, however, survivors are waiting to hear their concrete plans and how the organization plans to repair harm,” Turkos wrote.
Still, Turkos felt the timing of the announcement was suspect. “This announcement was made late on a Friday night, on a holiday weekend. It doesn’t feel like they are proudly stepping into a new direction. It feels like they are doing this in the shadows,” she wrote. “I look forward to learning more and to seeing this organization get back to its roots and mission, and always centering those most impacted in the work,” Turkos added.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.