Dakota talks about the "She Is Equal" Campaign with ELLE Canada

In early October, actress Dakota Johnson got on stage at Global Citizen Festival in New York City and gave out her phone number to the entire world.

"I wanted to give women, globally, the opportunity to speak without the fear of judgment or the fear of being shut down and being told to be quiet or told that they are crazy or wrong," Johnson told us when we met with her at the West Hollywood celebrity-haunt Chateau Marmont during an event for the Gucci Bloom line of fragrances, for which Johnson is a face. 

Within half an hour of sharing her number, she received 8,000 voicemails—and another 500 each day of the following week. "As Global Citizen and I anticipated, there were threats, and people calling just to say 'Hi', which is great, but around 40% to 50% were legitimate calls," says Johnson, of the messages she has received. "They are not for the faint of heart. It’s profoundly affecting and important for people to hear them." 

The idea to share her number came to Johnson on the plane ride from Los Angeles, her home, to New York City for the event. "I was travelling to New York on the day that the Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford hearings were happening, and I found myself feelings really fucking despondent and discouraged and quiet," she says. "I didn’t feel comfortable with [getting up on stage] just speaking on behalf of women, when what really what matters to me is listening to women." 

It was just two days before the Global Citizen Festival, an annual event hosted by Global Poverty Project with musical acts curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin, when Johnson pitched the idea. "We figured out a way to make it work," says Johnson, who calls the speed with which things were able to happen "inspiring." 

"The state of the world is a fucking nightmare, but when you think back on it, it's only been two years [since President Trump was elected]," she says. "If someone reads that I got this together in two days, hopefully they will also be a little proactive. At least get up and vote—it will take you 15 minutes." 

Global Citizen and Johnson are currently working together to prepare the audio files, and they will soon be shared with the public. If you have a story to tell, Johnson's number is still up and running: call and leave a voicemail at 1-(212)-653-8806.

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