Jessica Chastain And Amber Tamblyn Say Thandie Newton Wasn’t Deliberately Excluded From Time’s Up

The time may be up on misconduct and harassment, but the clock has just started on a Twitter fight over Thandie Newton’s recent comments about not being famous enough for the Time’s Up movement.

Thandie has told a story several times before about a director who filmed her during an audition with her legs open and her hands on her breasts, and then screened the video for his friends after poker games. That’s a very #MeToo story. But earlier this week, she revealed that her participation in the Time’s Up movement had been given a pass by the powers that be, all due to the fact that her career “wasn’t hot enough.” Asia Argento, who has accused Harvey Weinstein of rape, tweeted a link to Thandie’s story and said she’s not a huge fan of the “exclusive” club.

I stand with you @thandienewton

— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) April 23, 2018

That didn’t sit so well with vocal Time’s Up advocates Jessica Chastain and Amber Tamblyn. First Jessica reminded Asia that she was invited to the first Time’s Up meeting that was held at Jessica’s home.

I invited you to the first meeting at my house Nov 27th but unfortunately you were out of town. It wasn't called #TimesUp cuz we didn't have a name. It was just a group of actresses coming together to see how we could support the brave women coming forward & create lasting change

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) April 23, 2018

Asia mentioned that Jessica presented the meeting as more of a women’s lunch and not as a movement, which is what it turned out to be. Asia also had some issues with CAA’s involvement in Time’s Up. Rose McGowan has had similar thoughts, calling CAA the “pimps” who provided Harvey Weinstein with victims. Jessica wasn’t having that either:

In the beginning CAA offered space in LA. Our houses cannot hold all the women that want to be involved. We had to find large spaces. They are not leading this. The women at the meetings bring up ideas on how we can continue to move things forward. All these women are the leaders

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) April 24, 2018

She went on to add:

“You don’t have to have a ‘hot’ film career to come to a meeting. Half of the people at my house were from theatre. Thandie Newton has an open invitation to come to any meeting and join in. I respect her so much and would love for her to be involved.

I have felt so bad that some feel excluded. I was never asked to join anything, I just came forward to see how I could be of service. No one is unwelcome. The more women that come together, standing shoulder to shoulder, the stronger we are. You, and so many others, were so brave to speak up & start this movement. It is my goal to make sure it will never be in vain. I will always support you and what you did.”

That’s when Amber Tamblyn jumped in with her two cents. One as a tip for Jessica’s hard work, and one that she angrily flicked in Asia’s direction for her comments about the alleged exclusivity of Time’s Up:

100% what Jessica said. None of us needed an invitation to do the work. We just did the work. Period. This is such a disheartening dialogue to be having with fellow women. Such a shame.

— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) April 24, 2018

Maybe ask Saru Jayaraman from the National Restaurant Association or Ai-Jen Poo, director of the Domestic Farm Worker’s Allience if they feel like they’re Hollywood elitists. They’re both a part of #TimesUp . As are many women from across industries.

— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) April 24, 2018

Asia hasn’t responded. Thandie has also been silent about the topic on Twitter, choosing instead to tweet about Star Wars and Westworld. But we all heard what Jessica said: that Thandie has an invitation to the next Time’s Up meeting. Whether or not she’ll go is a whole other story. It definitely feels like an elementary school birthday party pity invite. I don’t think that’s the case, but Thandie should probably still be prepared for a passive-aggressive “Such a shame” from Amber if Thandie shows up without a fancy meeting snack.

Pic: Wenn.com