New head of Time's Up pledges openness after Cuomo scandal

Almost four years ago, Time's Up was formed by high-profile Hollywood women, aiming to ‘clean house’ regarding sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond

Almost four years ago, a group of high-profile Hollywood women — producers, agents, movie stars — formed Time’s Up, an ambitious initiative to fight sexual harassment in their own industry and beyond, as the #MeToo reckoning was taking hold.

“It’s very hard for us to speak righteously about the rest of anything if we haven’t cleaned our own house,” s aid producer Shonda Rhimes, one of those powerful women, at the time.

She was speaking about Hollywood. But now, Time’s Up itself is on a mission to clean its own house — and salvage its very existence -- after a damaging scandal that forced the departure of its chief executive, Tina Tchen, over revelations the group’s leaders advised former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration after he was first accused of misconduct last year.

Tchen’s replacement, Monifa Bandele, says that the embattled organization, currently re-evaluating its structure, will operate with a new openness and rededicate itself to “people power,” giving a strong voice to women from all walks of life.