Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), along with the Democratic Women’s Working Group, is calling on the men and women in Congress to wear black to President Trump’s upcoming State of the Union address in solidarity with the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements against sexual harassment.
My colleagues and I in the @HouseDemWomen are calling on our fellow MoCs - women & men, Democrats & Republicans - to wear black to this year's #SOTU in solidarity w/survivors of sexual harassment/violence in Hollywood, politics, the military, academia, etc. #TIMESUP #MeToo
— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) January 10, 2018
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tweeted her support Wednesday and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) tweeted that she will be wearing black to the event. It is unclear how many members of Congress will wear black to the January 30th address.
Thanks to the brave women of the #MeToo movement, we are at a watershed moment in the fight against sexual harassment. Know that we are with you every step of the way. #TimesUp https://t.co/FTT20fJxQX
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) January 10, 2018
By wearing black to this year’s #SOTU, the @HouseDemWomen are standing in solidarity with women across our nation to say: #TimesUp on sexual harassment in the workplace. https://t.co/2Cd7bK6PlC
— Rep. Lois Frankel (@RepLoisFrankel) January 10, 2018
Pelosi has been accused of silence about sexual harassment scandals in Congress in the past. She has been accused of ignoring sexual harassment by former California Rep. Bob Filner. She called Rep John Conyers (D-MI) an “icon in our country” when it was initially revealed that he paid $27,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim and faced new claims of harassment. She later walked back that statement saying she believed Conyers’s second accuser.
She was also accused of knowing about sexual harassment allegations against Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-NV) and doing nothing. She called for him to step down once the allegations rose to prominence as part of the #MeToo movement.
Hollywood wore black at The Golden Globes Sunday in solidarity with the #MeToo movement. That protest later faced criticism as it was revealed that actresses like Rose McGowan and Asia Argento who exposed Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior were not even invited to the protest.
Some of those vocally participating in the protest, like Meryl Streep and Ben Affleck, were accused by Rose McGowan of silence about Weinstein in the past.