Eva Longoria Made A 'Financial Contribution' To Time's Up Despite Stepping Down From The Organization's Board Of Directors Amid Andrew Cuomo Scandal
Following the news that Eva Longoria is stepping down from Time's Up's board of directors, the 46-year-old revealed she made a "financial contribution" to the organization to "make workplaces safe for women everywhere."
The Desperate Housewives alum spoke to Variety about her departure. "It’s okay to make mistakes in the efforts to topple the patriarchy," she told the publication.
"Mistakes will be made. It doesn’t mean the efforts should stop. We have to continue. We’ve been under thousands of years of a patriarchal society. It’s not going to topple in the three years that Time’s Up has existed. We have so much more work to be done," the brunette beauty continued.
"I’m excited about the trajectory of Time’s Up," Longoria said. "We were always in service of our mission and setting up a structure and a space to end the imbalance of power. So I’m excited for the next generation to move that forward because it is important that the work continues."
The Devious Maids star was not the only one to leave the organization. Time's Up announced on Saturday, September 4, that Shonda Rhimes and Jurnee Smollett were departing the board too.
The change comes after CEO Tina Tchen resigned following reports that she advised Governor Andrew Cuomo amid his sexual harassment scandal. Roberta Kaplan also resigned from the movement after reportedly advising the politician too.
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Cuomo stepped down as New York Governor in the aftermath of a report by Attorney General Letitia James which claimed that he had sexually harassed 11 women. It was also alleged in the report Kaplan advised Cuomo when sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.
Time's Up interim CEO Monifa Bandele asked Colleen DeCourcy, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, Ashley Judd and Gabrielle Sulzberger to remain on the board of directors. Nina Shaw, Hilary Rosen, Katie McGrath, Christy Haubegger and Ana Navarro also stepped down from the board of directors.
"TIME'S UP is ready for new leadership, and we want to move forcefully toward its new iteration," Time's Up said in a statement. "We have strong faith in the talent and dedication of our interim CEO Monifa Bandele as a leader. As has been announced, Monifa will be overseeing a comprehensive assessment of the organization, in collaboration with an outside consultant, and the input of our stakeholders: survivors and those who work for survivor justice and gender equity in the workplace and beyond."
In light of the scandal, 148 people signed an open letter on Medium asking the group to "do better by us."
The letter asked that Time's Up and the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund conduct "a third-party investigation and issue a detailed report illustrating the full extent to which TIME’S UP and National Women’s Law Center board members and staff members have been approached by, offered advice to, or are representing perpetrators of harm."
The letter also asked that any board members and staff members "who have supported perpetrators of harm" are removed.
