Dear Gossips,

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are happening on Sunday. Will you watch? The SAGs aren’t as highly rated as the Golden Globes or the Grammys or the Oscars. And there’s some kind of football game on the same night. But, as we’ve seen, this award season has taken on a different meaning. 

In the lead-up to the SAGs, The Hollywood Reporter has published several pieces this week about how the Time’s Up and #MeToo initiatives have affected award season. Our Show Your Work episode dedicated to Ellen Pompeo’s THR cover feature will be posted later today. I also mentioned Reese Witherspoon and the Big Little Lies pay increase yesterday. And also yesterday THR reported on “how actresses are fighting Hollywood’s gender pay discrepancy with transparency”, sharing salary details and other information that, in the past, wasn’t part of open conversation but that’s no longer the case now, especially following the reveal that Mark Wahlberg was paid so much for the All The Money In The World reshoots while Michelle Williams pretty much wasn’t paid at all. 

Apparently, at a recent Time’s Up meeting, Tracee Ellis Ross’s frustration over her black-ish salary was discussed. Tracee won the Golden Globe in 2017 for Best Comedy Series Actress. She’s getting paid “significantly less” than Anthony Anderson and:

With negotiations for the fifth season ongoing, sources say Ellis Ross feels that if she isn't brought up to Anderson's level, she may opt to appear in fewer episodes to make up the disparity by guesting on another show. 

The Time’s Up membership disagreed on whether or not that was the right move for Tracee (reducing visibility and guesting on another show might mean she has to work even harder for the same) but the point is not that there are differing opinions on what she should do and what’s the right move. The point is that women in Hollywood are sitting down with one another, regularly now it seems, to discuss sensitive matters that were heretofore discouraged – money matters and best practice negotiation strategies, back end points and other benefits…and when women get together and exchange what they’ve learned and what they know, well, as usual, certain people are going to be afraid. Good.  

In the days following the Golden Globes, after the launch of Time’s Up, many wondered how the movement could sustain momentum and, beyond dress codes and red carpets, how Time’s Up leaders would continue pushing for change. These meetings, these focused gatherings, it sounds a lot like the “war room” concept in project management. That’s BUSINESS. And it’s sexy as f-ck. 

As for Tracee Ellis Ross, she’s expected to be at the SAGs on Sunday because black-ish is nominated for Outstanding Ensemble Comedy Series. Is that what she was getting fitted for in this photo she posted on Instagram? 

If so, I guess it’s not going to be the Proenza? 

Heads up – the Show Your Work Ellen Pompeo episode is on the way. We’re trying to have it for you later this morning. And full SAG coverage coming at you Monday. 

Have a great weekend!

Yours in gossip,

Lainey