Instead, we got to hear Viola Davis tell viewers at home that women are “born worthy,” and that abuse is not their fault. We heard Jessica Biel take credit for role as an executive producer on The Sinner and thank her husband Justin Timberlake for helping to hold their family together. We watched Sarah Jessica Parker admonish Carson Daly for failing to wear a “Time’s Up” badge, Debra Messing call out E! for failing to pay former cohost Catt Sadler a salary equal to her male counterpart’s, and Michelle Williams expertly ignore a question about learning she was nominated for best actress, and turn the attention to her activist companion on the carpet, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke. Burke was one of several activists and organizers who arrived on the arms of A-list actresses on the red carpet—spots usually reserved for a spouse, sibling, or proud parent.

No one looked less beautiful for wearing black, sharing the spotlight, or for talking about something other their gowns, tuxes, or the contents of their handbags. Quite the contrary. It might just be the beginning of a new era for the red carpet.

Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer
Image: Invision/AP/Jordan Strauss
Penelope Cruz
Penelope Cruz
Image: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
Issa Rae
Issa Rae
Image: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Image: Invision/AP/Jordan Strauss
Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan
Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan
Image: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Image: Invision/AP/Jordan Strauss
Mariah Carey, America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone and Billie Jean King
Mariah Carey, America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone and Billie Jean King
Image: Invision/AP/Jordan Strauss
Zoe Kravitz, Rosa Clemente, and Susan Sarandon
Zoe Kravitz, Rosa Clemente, and Susan Sarandon
Image: Getty/Joe Scarnici
Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, and Eva Longoria
Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, and Eva Longoria
Image: AP/Invision/Jordan Strauss

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