Born out of the mind of Broadway star Laura Bell Bundy, “Double Standards” is a once in a lifetime concert event, pairing up female Broadway superstars to sing spectacular jazz standards. While this event would already be a must see, the fact that it’s supporting organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood makes it more important than ever. I sat down with divinely “woke” and Tony nominated Laura Bell Bundy to chat about her inspiration to create this phenomenal event, sexism in Hollywood, how women from Rosie O’Donnell to Sara Bareilles , and why now more than ever, it is important for all of us to stay woke!
The event you have coordinated, “Double Standards”, is more important now than ever before. What inspired you to really get into creating such a magical event? I think we can’t as women expect to only do one march and all of our problems will be solved, our anger will subside, etc. I can tell that there is a general relaxation with women from the Women’s March, but we have to stay woke because we are still dealing with these issues every day. Especially with the whole Harvey Weinstein/sexual harassment in the workplace issue rearing its ugly head right now, it makes it so clear that these things have been kept in the dark for so long. We have to, as women, mobilize. We have to support one another. Women tend not to do that, we tend to pit ourselves against one another. This particular concert has been nothing but women coming together. “Double Standards” is a pun on the phrase double standard. We have two women coming together to sing a jazz standard. It’s also two women coming together. It’s not one woman standing there saying “I’m out for myself”. We have two women coming together saying “I’m in it with you”. That’s what this is about. I am in this with you, I will sing that harmony part with you, I have your back. That is the feeling of this concert.
Not only are you supporting each other during “Double Standards”,but you are also getting to support some amazing organizations as well. Absolutely. We are getting the opportunity to support the great organizations that truly support us. The ACLU especially, they cover the gamut of issues that affect us. Reproductive rights, equal pay for women, domestic abuse, the list goes on. Even on their website, they were challenging the wrestling association for discrimination against women. We also have Planned Parenthood and they have obviously always been controversial, when they are actually educating, informing and offering reproductive help. A very small percentage of what they actually do is abortion. The rest of what they do is to educate and offer reproductive help, People don’t understand, men especially, we as women got a whole different system going on. We have the Natural Breast Cancer Coalition also; one in eight women in their lifetime will be diagnosed with breast cancer-that is a huge amount. The connection is also interesting, since Planned Parenthood offers three hundred and sixty thousand mammograms a year. This is all kind of connected. It’s about our basic health and our rights. It’s crazy that we still have to fight for some of these things.
When did you get the idea to turn “Double Standards” into a reality? We have actually been talking about doing this concert since last November. It took this long to make it happen and I am kind of glad that it did. Here we are at the year anniversary of the election and it’s a reminder. A reminder that we cannot just sit on our laurels. We have to continue to stay woke about this. Especially with things like birth control, it’s been an issue since 1916. For one hundred years, it’s kind of amazing that it’s still an issue. Here is the other thing, we’re celebrating. It’s one hundred years anniversary of women getting the right to vote in New York. It’s the one hundred and first anniversary of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is now known as Planned Parenthood. There is a lot to be proud of and excited about. We have earned a lot, but we have earned things that if you’ve got a dick, they’re a given. We have had to fight for things that are a given if you are a man. Yes, we are celebrating and happy and full of love, we are the nurturers and we have the ability to give birth and have children, but we deserve equal rights and we should not have to fight for them.
Why do you think in the Hollywood industry women are always pitted against each other so often, as opposed to being put in a position to raise each other up? You know, I think we all are competitive and it’s survival of the fittest. That is in our DNA, to survive. Early on in our pre-historic history, due to physical strength, women needed a man to protect her, the man would go out and she would raise the child. Organically I think it’s the physical element of needing a partnership, but then it was taken advantage of. Women were then raised to think that they don’t have value unless they are married, and society was constructed this way. Women were not allowed to own property until 1823, with the permission of their husbands in Mississippi. Women could not open a checking account without a man until 1974. That is why women are pitted against each other. Because women have had to earn the love of a man in order to be considered a human being, or to gain freedom at all. Looking beautiful and all that stuff we do in an attempt to attract the opposite sex, it was initially a requirement. We had to attract the opposite sex in order to have any rights at all, because you only got those rights when you were married. I think that is a little part of the root of it.
Are you finding women being more supportive of each other in the entertainment industry now? Competition wise, in Hollywood, there are a million girls going for one part, and i think men could have the same competition. Unfortunately, there are not great female roles, and a lot of women want those roles. I personally have seen a shift, and maybe it’s because I am in my thirties now, but I wonderful female friends in the business. We have worked hard to support one another. We act differently to one another than I remember at an audition I would be at when I was younger. We are supportive, we all deserve it, whoever gets this part is okay. In my experience in the last few years, the attitude has been very “girl I know it’s hard, I am in it with you”.
The Weinstein scandal has seemingly opened a Pandora’s box of issues where people have been taken advantage of by men in power. The sexual harassment issues happening now don’t surprise me. The casting couch has been around for ages. It’s just a shame because it’s more about the abuse of power than anything else. To put a man or a woman in a position where they don’t feel that they have a choice or are in a no win situation, that is terrible. Also, we knew there was a casting couch, but I don’t think we knew it was still going on like this; it’s crazy. The fact that people have been made to feel like they could not talk about it and people got away with this type of behavior, it’s saddening and disgusting.
Jessica Chastain recently spoke out against Bryan Singer while actually working with him on the next X-Men film. This is a stark contrast from people not speaking up at all. Do you think we are finally seeing a shift with this issue in general? In the year 2017, you have seen women, who out of the pain of the last election, come rising up with a kind of courage that we may not have ever seen before in this generation. The organization of that Women's March, of this concert, perhaps that kind of strength and energy may be making women feel that it’s okay now. There was a great New York Times article that came out recently and it was about women being angry, and how Uma Thurman was afraid to make a comment about what was going on because she was so angry. She found that if she was angry and expressed herself, she was chastised for being angry. I hope that’s now over. We have a right to feel whatever we feel, that is our inalienable right. Not everyone has to like it, but it’s our right. It’s that preconceived idea that women have to be smiling and happy; a woman should just be whatever she is. I think the shift of women saying it’s happened to them, it’s not okay, and “me too”, it’s okay now. It may be because of this one particular thing, but I think people are finally saying “this is enough”.
For “Double Standards”, you are on stage with some pretty powerful ladies. Is it intimidating being up there with ladies that are true legends or does it feel empowering? It doesn't feel intimidating at all, it actually feels supportive. I feel supported by them. I wanted to create an environment that feels supportive to them. It’s very odd that I find myself in this position. I never thought I would be the person to activate people like this. I was more going with the flow. I find myself inspired by this idea, and to see this all coming together, the feelings I’ve had and the education that I have gotten, I really did not know everything I now know about women. Maybe it’s because as an entertainer I didn’t have to fight for certain things because I was the star of the show. I have such compassion for the experience of being a woman in such a deep way, that I have never felt before. I am finding that I am getting a new birth of my own personal strength and conviction as a woman. I am getting it though the connections with these other women. It’s intimidating as I have now become the spokesperson for this, I never sought to do that. It’s a responsibility. The women on this stage are powerful, but I am seeing them come in in t-shirts and jeans. They are divas when they hit the stage, but they’re women. I mean, we have Annaleigh Ashford walking in with her baby to rehearsal, things like that (laughs). They're every woman, they happen to just sing like Angels.
You are now taking a place as a real leader in the women's movement. As someone from a small town, you are giving a voice to people who may sometimes feel they don’t have one. I think that’s what I was feeling when I wrote letters to all of the ladies. I actually wrote letters and told them all that they have a voice and it needs to be heard. I mean, I got Rosie’s email address and sent her a note, saying that she had a powerful voice and she is saying something that people want to hear and that it would be great for her to be here. I got a response almost immediately. She was like “I’m in”. It was an immediate “yes and here’s what I can do”. She has made this subject and other social issues her life right now, and it has been great. The other women that have said “yes”, they did not say “oh I don’t know”. They have said “YES”! And the women that have said no have said no-I won’t forget those women either.
In times like this, you find out who is willing to stand with you, would’t you say? I think that the people were really fired up in January. I know it’s hard to watch headlines and stay angry. You just can’t function like that. You have to shift your focus and do something else. I can’t watch the news and do that to myself all the time, it affects my harmony and general being. We have to kind of stay somewhat focused on it though.
Post “Double Standards”, what is next for you? The show on TNT “Good Behavior” that I have been recurring on, it’s still airing right now, 10pm on Sunday. I have some other stuff that I can’t talk about just yet. It’s music and television related; its a musical television show, that I can say. It’s a musical television show., where I would be writing the music. It’s more of a creative side for me. I just did “The Honeymooners” and we are trying to get that to Broadway. After this show and “Honeymooners”, I am wiped! (laughs).
If you were able to give a message to the girls or women who can’t see this concert, what message would you like to give them? You have a voice. Everyone has a voice. Like Ghandi said, we must be the change we wish to see in the world. We get to decide how we want to be treated. We get to set that boundary. It does not mean that we are bitches. It means we love ourselves. Love, the right kind of love, requires boundaries. We get to decide what we accept for ourselves and what we don’t accept for ourselves. When we don’t accept a certain kind of treatment, we gotta speak up. Sometimes we have to do that in numbers, because it is so scary being all by yourself. One voice can make a difference though.
Join us on Sunday, November 12th at The Town Hall NYC for Double Standards — a concert celebrating women’s rights, health, and empowerment!
Performances by Rosie O’Donnell, Sara Bareilles, Laura Bell Bundy, Ingrid Michaelson, Annaleigh Ashford, Ana Gasteyer, Lena Hall, Denée Benton, Liz Callaway, Deborah S. Craig, Eden Espinosa, Linda Hart, Cady Huffman, Morgan James, Leslie Kritzer, Judy Kuhn, Lesli Margherita, Jessie Mueller, Orfeh, Adrienne Warren and more!
ALL proceeds benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition, Planned Parenthood of New York City Action Fund and ACLU.https://thetownhall.org/event/double-standards