Emma Watson was 27 years old when she decided that talking wasn’t enough. 🎬
In February 2018, while Hollywood and the United Kingdom were reeling from the #MeToo movement’s eruption, the actress took one million pounds sterling, about 1.4 million dollars, out of her own pocket and put it into the Justice and Equality Fund.
It wasn’t a symbolic donation: that money would fund lawyers, legal advice, and support programs for women who were victims of harassment and abuse in any employment sector, not just film.
The letter that accompanied the announcement was signed by nearly 200 British actresses, including Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, and published in The Observer just before the 2018 BAFTAs.
Thanks to Watson’s contribution, the fund reached half of its goal of more than 2 million dollars within days.
