Janelle Monae Spotlights Time's Up at 2018 Grammys: ''We Come in Peace But We Mean Business''

R&B singer shared her support for the movement against sexual assault and inequality at tonight's award ceremony

By McKenna Aiello Jan 29, 2018 2:45 AMTags
Janelle Monae, 2018 Grammy Awards, Red Carpet FashionsJamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Janelle Monae is using her voice to spotlight the Time's Up movement at the 2018 Grammys

The R&B singer and six-time Grammy nominee took the Madison Square Garden stage tonight with an empowering call to action against gender inequality. 

"Tonight, I am proud to stand in solidarity as not just an artist," she shared, "but a young woman, with my fellow sisters in this room who make up the music industry—artists, writers, assistants, publicists, C.E.O.S, producers, engineers, and women from all sectors of the business. We are also daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and human beings. We come in peace but we mean business." 

"And to those who would dare try and silence us, we offer you two words: Time's up. We say 'Time's Up' for pay inequality, time's up for discrimination, time's up for harassment of any kind, and time's up for the abuse of power. It's not just going on in Hollywood. It's not just going on in Washington. It's right here in our industry as well."

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Stars Who Wore White Roses to Grammys 2018

"Just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well," Monae concluded. "So let's work together—women and men as a united music industry committed to creating more safe work environments, equal pay and access for all women." 

Janelle then introduced Kesha's performance of "Praying," a single released amidst her ongoing sexual assault and battery lawsuit against music producer Dr. Like

Just as film and TV stars were encouraged to show their support for Time's Up by wearing black at the 2018 Golden Globes, the music biz followed suit with a similar red carpet sign of solidarity. Artists including Lady GagaNick Jonas and more incorporated white roses into their ensembles to protest sexual harassment and inequality. 

A group dubbed the Voices in Entertainment penned an open letter that said they chose white roses because "historically it stands for hope, peace, sympathy and resistance."

Join the Movement: Click here to donate to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund