It was expected that everyone wearing black at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night would be ready to talk about serious issues, but Debra Messing was the first of the night to throw the gauntlet down.
In an interview with Giuliana Rancic on the E! Countdown to the Red Carpet show, Messing was asked why she was wearing black in solidarity with the Time's Up movement against sexual harassment. The Will & Grace actress took the opportunity to take Rancic's network to task for their lack of pay parity between men and women.
"I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn't believing in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts," she said.
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Messing went on to say she misses Catt Sadler, the E! anchor who left her job in December after finding out that she earned just more than half of what her male Daily Pop co-anchor Jason Kennedy's salary. Sadler resigned in protest citing the fact that she and Kennedy had started at the company at the same time and were doing basically the same job.
Rancic didn't comment on Messing's call out specifically, but thanked the actress for using her voice on the carpet.
Twitter, naturally, responded in support of Messing's boldness.
Debra Messing calling out E! for unequal pay on E! #goldenglobes pic.twitter.com/8142GUofZU
— Cecelia (@ceceliasays) January 7, 2018Debra Messing calling out E! not paying women equally while being interviewed on E! #GoldenGlobes #ERedCarpet pic.twitter.com/PF2Ye0oOyf
— Vanessa V (@vanessaleigh4) January 7, 2018I just love how Debra Messing called out E! While doing an interview with E! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/iOb30iLjdK
— Alex Joseph (@ThatBrownGuy93) January 7, 2018When Debra Messing calls out E News over their gender pay gap while being interviewed by E News #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/OEinBLzqc4
— Abbey Moore (@AbbeyLiz13) January 7, 2018DEBRA MESSING CALLING OUT E!'s GENDER WAGE GAP DURING AN E! INTERVIEW WE LOVE A LEGEND #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/VLXBqm8zEO
— beth (@midtownkeery) January 7, 2018Debra Messing SHOOK the damn table. I ASPIRE to throw shade that eloquently. WOW tonight's gonna be a NIGHT. I'm ready.
— Sylvia Obell (@SylviaObell) January 7, 2018Following Messing's interview, Sadler herself thanked Messing for her support. "I am immensely grateful for the outpouring of support today," Sadler told BuzzFeed News. "Time's Up."
Eva Longoria also called out the network while voicing her support for Sadler. "We support gender equity and equal pay and we hope that E! follows that lead with Catt as well," she said in an interview with Seacrest. Seacrest responded with, "We love Catt."
Other Links From TVGuide.com Golden Globe AwardsDebra MessingGiuliana RancicCatt Sadler