Alyssa Milano on the #MeToo movement: 'We're not going to stand for it any more'

It was like any other day for Alyssa Milano, the American activist and actor, until she started getting ready for bed. While reading a flurry of articles about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual assaults, her phone went off.

It was her friend Charles Clymer, who sent her a screenshot. It read: “Suggested by a friend: if all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

“I thought, you know what? This is an amazing way to get some idea of the magnitude of how big this problem is,” said Milano over the phone from Los Angeles. “It was also a way to get the focus off these horrible men and to put the focus back on the victims and survivors.”

Milano added a sentence to her friend’s message before posting it on Twitter: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”

And she sent it out.

“That was basically it,” she said. “I looked down at my daughter, sent the tweet, and went to sleep not knowing it was going to snowball.”

She woke up the next morning to 55,000 replies and the hashtag trending No 1 on Twitter. Now, #MeToo has made waves across the globe, active in 85 countries on Twitter and posted 85 million times on Facebook over the past 45 days.

“It was the perfect storm to happen and I feel really blessed I was the vessel, the messenger,” said Milano. “It’s very special, probably the greatest thing I’ve felt. I think the fact that it turned into a true movement was surprising. That was never my intention.”

The Charmed star has reignited a movement that denounces sexual assault and harassment and millions of people are standing with her, including stars Uma Thurman, Björk, Sheryl Crow, Lady Gaga, Molly Ringwald and Ilana Glazer.

“Not only is this a horrible thing that happens in my industry, but it’s something that happens in every industry,” said Milano. “It’s really inspiring to think this might continue and things might change.”

While Milano has popularized the movement, the original “me too” phrase was started by New York activist Tarana Burke in 2006. Burke was inspired by a 13-year-old girl who confided in her to share her sexual assault experience, to which she replied “me too”. It became a grassroots campaign for women of color who have experienced sexual abuse, which was initially posted on MySpace in a pre-hashtag era.

“It has flourished into the most profoundly important work for this country,” said Milano. “I definitely think it’s a standing in solidarity to all those who have been hurt.”

Weinstein’s wife, the British fashion designer Georgina Chapman, who left the film producer after the sexual assault claims, is a good friend of Milano, who says she had troubles speaking publicly about the Weinstein scandal after the news broke.

“I was very struck by how incredibly depressed Georgina Chapman, who is a dear friend of mine, was,” she said. “I was being asked to comment from the press, but was also trying to be conscious that this is my dear friend’s husband, who is a horrible predator.”

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Milano wrote and published a statement on political website Patriot not Partisan, but wanted to do more, which led her to posting the #MeToo hashtag. “The movement itself has become something that is in the hands of millions of women throughout the world,” she said, “and they will continue to move it forward.”

It’s not without criticism, as Milano has read that some are calling the #MeToo movement “fragile” on Twitter. “People think ‘as soon as there is a false claim, this movement will fall apart,’” she said. “I don’t think it’s a fragile movement, that’s what they want us to believe.”

Milano has since started a movement called #HerToo with Unicef, which stands for children who are suffering from violence and sexual abuse.

“It’s basically telling the stories of women who don’t have access to social media and can’t tell their stories themselves,” said Milano, who has been a Unicef ambassador since 2003. “Everyone has the right to a happy childhood.”

The #HerToo hashtag is smaller in scale in comparison to #MeToo, but is just one step along Milano’s path of activism – she first garnered attention in the 1980s after kissing Ryan White, a friend with Aids, on The Phil Donahue Show, to show the disease can’t be transmitted through casual contact.

She has also worn a dress made of vegetables for Peta to promote vegetarianism in 2007 and has fundraised for clean water in developing countries with Charity: Water.

“I have always tried to use my platform to educate, empower and give people the tools to make a difference in the world,” she said.

Next up, Milano is working on a Public Service Announcement campaign called “Keep talking about it”. Created with the Creative Coalition, an advocacy group founded by members of the entertainment industry, the PSA will partner with organizations that specialize in sexual harassment, assault and misconduct. “It’s for women to report, find help and heal,” she said.

And in the meantime, her activism for women’s rights will continue. “It’s not a fixed movement, it’s something that will adapt to the women, the territory and the generation,” said Milano. “I do think the most important thing is that it will continue. We are not going to stand for it any more.”

Even though Donald Trump has been accused by at least 24 women of inappropriate sexual behavior, Milano says the #MeToo movement would have never happened if he was not in power.

“This man in office is an admitter of ‘grabbing pussy’. It not only horrified sexual assault survivors, but all women, as he’s trying to roll back our rights,” she said. “I don’t know if this movement would have turned into what it has if this president wasn’t in office.”

Milano, who is developing a new comedy series at Lifetime called Alyssa Milano for Mayor, and will be featured in the forthcoming Netflix series Insatiable, expects to see a change in the entertainment industry.

“Roles for women will be different, the way women are portrayed in media will be different,” she said. “I hope women will have the opportunity to be film-makers, producers and writers. By the very nature of that, the industry will shift.”

And at home, Milano is a mother of two; Elizabella, three, and Milo, six. Like all parents, she worries about the future world her kids will grow up in.

“That’s part of why I sent that tweet originally; my daughter was in my bed and I looked down at her after reading these horrible articles about horrible people,” she said. “I thought, ‘No, this just can’t be for her life. We have to change this.’”

“It felt like the right time,” she said.

Despite her own experience with sexual harassment, Milano still won’t share her story. She also doesn’t pressure any other women to do so, either. Perhaps the women who sympathize with her approach – it’s all right to stand with the #MeToo movement while keeping your personal story private – will do the same.

“I think that’s what #MeToo is – you don’t have to tell your story,” she said. “You just have to say ‘me too’.”