Kerry Washington received one of the "biggest gifts of [her] life" thanks to the Time’s Up movement.
The 43-year-old actress thinks the campaign to call a halt to sexual misconduct and gender imbalance in Hollywood has brought women in the profession together, instead of pitting them against one another.
She said: "One of the biggest gifts of my life came out of Time’s Up."
Recalling how actresses were previously isolated from one another, she added in an interview with America’s InStyle magazine: "We were told, ‘That one is difficult, and that one is crazy, and that one is unreliable.’
"We’d been told these untruths because oftentimes you are the only woman in the room. Those labels would get filtered to us about each other…
"[Now] we are really pouring into each other. We became a sisterhood in the industry across different roles and, in particular, with fellow actresses. We are so invested now, and we understand each other."
The ‘Scandal’ star established her own production company, Simpson Street, in 2016, partly because she felt like she had a responsibility to create opportunities for other actresses of colour.
She said: "Being number one on the call sheet for a show as historic as Scandal, where the stakes were so high and meant possible opportunities for other actresses of colour, that felt like a real test."
Kerry sought advice on producing from Reese Witherspoon because of her years of experiencing.
She said: "I knew that Reese had several production companies through the years and had learned a lot during the various stages of their development. I said to her, ‘You’re killing it now, but tell me all the mistakes you made so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.’ "
The ‘Big Little Lies’ star was happy to help but later shocked the ‘Last King of Scotland’ actress with a revelation.
Kerry recalled: "She said, ‘Not a single other actress has called me to have this conversation.’ "
Kerry Washington grateful Time’s Up brought women together
