Shonda Rhimes’ Time’s Up Organization Under Fire

At the height of the #MeToo movement to stand in solidarity with women who were sexually harassed on the job, Shonda Rhimes co-founded an organization called Time’s Up  that demanded accountability from people determined to have been guilty of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The organization, however, has come under fire as it has become apparent that the organization’s leaders have actually been advising at least one very powerful man accused of such behavior.  Rhimes says she is “exhausted” by the crisis.

The New York Times published  an investigation on Saturday (Aug. 21) that illustrated the alleged conflicts of interest inside the Time’s Up organization, and found the group wasn’t at all serving its mission.

“The fact that Time’s Up has become viewed as a receptacle for and the focus of men trying to cover up their obscene behaviors is exhausting to me,” Rhimes wrote in a statement. “Saving men, especially predatory men, is not on Time’s Up agenda.”

The report says many of the group’s top people advised New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as he faced multiple sexual harassment accusations, causing him to ultimately resign his position, effective Monday (Aug. 23) at 11:59 p.m. In light of this, The Times is reporting that board members “are privately questioning” the very survival of the organization.

RELATED: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Says He’ll Resign Amid Sexual Harassment Investigation

Time’s Up board co-chair Roberta Kaplan resigned from the organization just weeks ago after a group of 47 survivors decried the fact that she and Tina Tchen, the CEO of Time’s Up, were named in an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James for aiding Cuomo and his office on how to respond to the accusations. They also advised how to potentially retaliate against accusers.

In an interview with TheWrap, survivors say Time’s Up has gotten away from its main mission- supporting survivors of workplace sexual harassment and abuse, and has gotten distracted by non-harassment-related issues like racial equity at the Golden Globes and Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney over profits from “Black Widow.”

Time’s Up told the Times it will hire a consultant to examine its actions and figure how to move forward.