Sorry Not Sorry

Believe Women
 

When I sent my #MeToo tweet in 2017, I did it from a place of support and love and anger. As he was for so many women who are the victims of sexual assault, Harvey Weinstein was the last straw. Learning these things about this garbage human, how he treated women I knew and loved, filled me with both bone-crushing sadness and soul-burning fury. And so I spoke out in support of Rose McGowan, but also in support of myself and of my daughter, and of the millions upon millions of women around the world who have been or who will be victims of sexual violence. For too long, nobody listened to us. And when they did, they usually didn t believe us.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the amazing work of Tarana Burke, who, unbeknownst to me at the time, had started the #MeToo movement years earlier. She s been in the trenches fighting this fight for years, and one of the greatest gifts of my life has been the opportunity to help lift up the work she s done fighting for women who have been harassed and assaulted by men, and were rarely believed when they told their stories.


In those first days and months after that tweet, it was an avalanche. In every industry, in every country of the world, men who had for so long taken advantage of their societal power for sexual gratification were outed and fell. Some were men I had previously respected and supported. This is not, and has never been, a partisan political movement for me. Nope, not for a minute. And it never will be. This has been about shifting the culture away from not believing women who tell their stories into a place where we listen and evaluate and act based on the evidence.

Maybe I haven t done the best job in explaining this distinction that believing women doesn t mean we believe every word every woman says just because she is a woman. I mean, I sure as hell don t believe everything Kellyanne Conway says, and I shouldn t. When the available evidence contradicts what

Alyssa Milano is an actress, producer, and political activist. She is known for her roles in Who's the Boss?, Melrose Place, and Charmed, among others. As a political activist, she is best known for helping to relaunch the #MeToo movement in 2017.

Praise for Sorry Not Sorry
One of Katie Couric Media's Books by Seriously Impressive Women 

Actor Milano puts her political activism center stage in these resonant and hopeful essays that grapple with systemic racism, abortion rights, #MeToo, and living through the pandemic Milano s writing is compassionate, direct, and sincere. Her fans are in for a treat. Publishers Weekly

[Alyssa Milano] is earnest and edgy as she shares sharp observations, impassioned pleas, and tough assessments on the current state of American society. Readers interested in discussing contemporary issues will find much to agree (or disagree) with in this engaging and provocative volume. Booklist

In this book, Alyssa Milano demonstrates the importance of using your platform no matter how big or small to shape social change unapologetically, without fear of backlash.
Gabrielle Union, New York Times bestselling author of We re Going to Need More Wine

"You may know Alyssa Milano for her public acts of bravery and compassion, but in these essays, her personal example helps each of us to become braver and more effective, too. Read Sorry, Not Sorry and find a friend."
Gloria Steinem
 
These essays capture the American spirit at its best bold, patriotic, progressive, and honest. In difficult times, they were a pleasure to read.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Alyssa Milano is a real fighter, a caring person and passionate advocate who has helped move the needle on so many progressive issues that matter to our democracy and America.
Chuck Schumer

Honest, incisive, funny, real and all too human, Sorry Not Sorry gives you insight into what it means to be both an artist and activist in today s America.
Andrew Yang

Honest, unsparing, and at times humorous self reflection that gets at where we are and what we ve been through together.
Beto O Rourke

This book is an unflinching and