#METOO

Sienna Miller Praises the #MeToo Movement at a United Nations Event

“The revolution is really here.”


sienna miller
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As the number of people who continue to step forward to bring allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men proves, the #MeToo movement shows no sign of slowing. The latest to add her voice to the movement is Sienna Miller, who addressed the United Nations’s “#MeToo—Now What?” panel on Friday in New York City, according to The Guardian. During her speech, which was part of the U.N.’s annual meeting on gender equality, the Commission on the Status of Women, the English-American actress not only shared her own experiences with sexual harassment and sexism throughout her career, but also praised the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements for the strides they’ve made in improving women’s welfare in the workplace and beyond.

At one point during her speech, Miller described a particular instance in which she felt “undermined” and “undervalued,” The Guardian reports. “I have really just had enough. Enough of being undervalued, enough of being undermined, enough of being disrespected, because of my gender,” she said. “A few years ago I was offered a gutsy, powerful role in a play that was close to my heart. It was a two-hander on Broadway, but I was offered less than half what my male costar was being paid. The decision to turn down this particular role was difficult and lonely. I was forced to choose between making a concession on my self-worth and dignity and a role that I was in love with,” she said. “It turned out to be a pivotal moment in my life,” she said. “Not because I did it. But because I didn’t.”

Miller, 36, also referenced in her address the time she fought back against privacy-invading paparazzi, Vogue reports. She recalled times early on in her career when she says she was harassed by male photographers, “camera-armed men,” and claims she was “judged and vilified in ways that never would have happened” if she were a man. (In 2011, she told investigators looking into media ethics that she had been “spat at, verbally abused” by paparazzi.) But in 2008, Miller successfully sued a photo agency, citing a British anti-harassment human rights decision that had originally been designed to protect people from stalkers and animal rights protesters. “I fought back,” she said on Friday. “I got privacy law changed.”

She went on to echo the sentiments of Natalie Portman and others in saying that organizing with other women in the industry via Time’s Up has made her feel less alone. “I am excited that this movement challenges the loneliness and isolation we have all felt in relatively insignificant or extreme situations. I really feel that as women, we are no longer alone,” she told the panel, per The Guardian, which hosted the panel along with the Norwegian government and U.N. Women. Miller continued, “For me, the strongest significance of the Time’s Up movement is that, by bringing to light the darkest moments of some of the most powerful women in Hollywood, it sends a message to those who admire and listen to them. This message is that sexual harassment happens to everyone, even those who we think are untouchable because of their fame or celebrity status. It sends the message that being treated unfairly cannot be an intrinsic part of being a woman.”

“The revolution is really here,” Miller added, according to Vogue.

Related: Greetings! Sienna Miller Joins Instagram With a Warm Welcome From Cara Delevingne

Sienna Miller’s Best Looks On and Off the Red Carpet

Sienna Miller in Burberry at the “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” Costume Institute Gala in New York, New York, May 2013. Photo by Rabbani and Solimene Photography/WireImage.

Sienna Miller in Dolce and Gabbana at the Global Fund gala in London, England, September 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in green Burberry at the Burberry Prorsum Spring 2014 presentation at London Fashion Week, September 2013. Photo by Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in Burberry at the British Fashion Awards in London, England, December 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in Alexander McQueen at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California, March 2014. Photo by Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in Burberry at the 60th annual London Evening Standard Theater Awards in London, England, November 2014. Photo by Fred Duval/FilmMagic.

Sienna Miller in Balenciaga at the premiere of American Sniper in New York, New York, December 2014. Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic.

Sienna Miller in Miu Miu at the 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 2015. Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage.

Sienna Miller in Céline on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, January 2015. Photo by Douglas Gorenstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank.

Sienna Miller in Thakoon at the “China: Through the Looking Glass” Costume Institute Gala in New York, New York, May 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in Valentino at the Sea of Trees premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, May 2015. Photo by John Rasimus / Barcroft Media via Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in yet more green Burberry fur at the Burberry Prorsum Spring 2016 presentation at London Fashion Week in September 2015. Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in Marc Jacobs at the UK premiere of Burnt in London, England, October 2015. Photo © Karwai Tang.

Sienna Miller in Michael Kors at the premiere of High-Rise at the BFI Film Festival in London, England, October 2015. Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage.

Sienna Miller in Valentino at Harper’s Bazaar‘s Women of the Year Awards in London, England, November 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in a Gucci leather jacket in New York, New York, April 2016. Photo by Tal Rubin/GC Images.

Sienna Miller in blue suede Trademark mules, the same Gucci jacket in hand, strolling through Soho in New York, New York, April 2016. Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images.

Sienna Miller in Christopher Kane at the premiere of High-Rise at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, New York, April 2016. Photo by Getty Images.

Sienna Miller in Gucci at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for ‘Manus x Machina’ in New York, New York, May 2016.

John Shearer/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Dolce & Gabbana at the Cartier Queen’s Cup in Egham, England, June 2016.

David M. Benett/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Prada at the screening of The Lost City of Z at the New York Film Festival in New York, New York, October 2016.

Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Proenza Schouler at a screening of Live By Night in New York, New York, December 2016.

Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Michael Kors Collection at the 74th annual Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, California, January 2017.

VALERIE MACON/Getty Images

Sienna Miler in Gucci at the premiere of Live By Night in Hollywood, California, January 2017.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Dior at the premiere of The Lost City of Z at the Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin in Berlin, Germany, February 2017.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Sonia Rykiel at a photocall for The Lost City of Z in London, England, February 2017.

Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Sienna Miller in Alexander McQueen at the premiere of The Lost City of Z in London, England, February 2017.

Samir Hussein/Getty Images
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