Following Harvey Weinstein’s public downfall, the ensuing “Weinstein effect” spread outward from Hollywood to other industries and countries, exposing more men who had abused their power. Jane Fonda addressed the advances the #MeToo movement has made six years later:
“I was hoping that it would matter, and it did. A lot of people in the beginning thought [#MeToo] went too far, canceling and all that kind of thing. All movements do in the beginning. They all do. They can’t be perfect out of the box. But it has emboldened women to speak. I honestly don’t know if it’s caused men to think twice. I really don’t.”
In 2022, films like “Tár,” “She Said,” and “Women Talking” continued the #MeToo conversation. Behind the scenes, the likes of HBO’s “House of the Dragon” showed the effect that intimacy coordinators can have on making sex scenes more comfortable for actresses — especially for a franchise such as “Game of Thrones,” which has been accused of gratuitous sexual violence before. While some actors (here’s looking at you, Sean Bean) may struggle to accept this much-needed evolution, Fonda can only imagine how much intimacy coordinators might have improved things for her generation:
“What a difference it would’ve made in terms of my comfort. I missed out on that one. It’s hard even to describe the difference when you’re the only [woman] on a set, literally the only.”
Sally Field felt “a whole different energy” on the “80 for Brady” set, as there were “women all over the place.” She added: “It’s that love affair that we all had with each other. Lily [Tomlin] and Jane [Fonda] and Rita [Moreno] make me funnier and bigger and braver than I think I am.”