14 DAY TRIAL // These past couple of awards seasons, more and more female celebrities have protested against having to answer fashion-related questions on the red carpet, thus virtually launching the #AskHerMore campaign. Natalie Portman will probably not lend her voice to it anytime soon.
In her new interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Oscar-winning actress says that she would rather she discussed fashion than politics on the red carpet ahead of a major event. Still, she adds, there is something inherent sexist in asking a woman what she’s wearing.
The hypocrisy of #AskHerMore
Some of the biggest supporters of #AskHerMore are Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon and Patricia Arquette, who even took the time to urge their fans and followers on social media to put pressure on red carpets journalists to not ask fashion-related questions ahead of movie awards gala.
The red carpet ceremony is now a thing separate from the awards show it precedes, and it mostly focuses on fashion, styling and accessories. As it so happens, the red carpet ceremony is now a profitable industry, where designers actually pay celebrities to have them wear their creations and talk about them.
At first, the same celebrities were asked to wear the creations, which they could later keep. The stakes are higher these days.
So, the very women who make thousands of dollars in cash (in the case of an A-lister) and even more in freebies just so they can talk about the designers they’re wearing are trying to ban the media from asking them fashion-related questions.
#AskHerMore says fashion shouldn’t be a topic on the red carpet, as journalists should turn their attention to more important topics, like a woman’s beliefs, accomplishments and work.
Fashion, not politics
Natalie Portman would rather she weren’t asked serious questions anymore. There’s a time and place for everything, and she seems to be saying that heavy political issues are not to be discussed on the red carpet, in an interview that usually doesn’t last longer than a couple of minutes and is conducted in very chaotic circumstances.
“I get asked so many questions about the Middle East, and I'm like ‘Can you please just ask me about my dress? Let's just talk about the dress!’,” she says. “I like to look at what people are wearing, but I do see the sexism in it. Yeah, you could reject it all, but I don't know anyone who has done that and been able to maintain the level of work I'd like to maintain.”
Instead of banning fashion from the list of topics to approach on a red carpet, Natalie proposes a counter-movement: #AskHimMore, where male stars would also be asked the question women get all the time, about how they’re able to manage parenthood and a career in a balanced way.