Amber Tamblyn said it’s “monumental” that multiple women have already announced their candidacies in the 2020 elections and she’s excited to support them.
Tamblyn, famous for her role in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants franchise and for being a cofounder of the Time’s Up movement, has long been politically active and campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
But for 2020, women candidates already include Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was the first Democrat to announce candidacy in December, and Sens. Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand.
“When we talk about, like, ‘Are things really changing? Are things getting better? It doesn’t feel that way,’ I think when you look at something like that, that is a huge deal,” Tamblyn said on the most recent episode of BuzzFeed News’ Profile. “That is a monumental deal.”
In her new book, a “feminist manifesto” titled Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution, Tamblyn delves into her own political awakening. The actor and writer told BuzzFeed News she’s grateful to “the women that stuck their necks out on the line” by running in the 2018 election.
She also said she hopes that momentum carries through the presidential election in 2020, with women who are “not necessarily likable” by patriarchal standards.
“These are women who do not exactly define sexuality by patriarchal standards,” she said. “These are women who represent intelligence, power, grit, all of the things that we have come to love about what creates change and opportunity in the world. And they not only ran, they won, and that to me is so, so important.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran against Clinton for the Democratic 2016 ticket, also recently announced his candidacy, but Tamblyn said that, while she would vote for him “in a heartbeat” if he wins the Democratic nomination, she’s not supporting him in the primaries.
“I think he’s a wonderful candidate,” Tamblyn said. “He’s not, maybe, my candidate. He hasn’t been.”
Instead of giving Sanders her energy, Tamblyn said she is excited to focus on the women candidates.
“I think that they represent all different types of experiences and truths and policies, and nothing makes me more excited than that,” she said. “Now I feel like we can have a real debate about policies, we can have a real debate about substance, because there’s actually choice. We have choice now, that’s what matters.”
Watch Amber Tamblyn’s interview on Profile on Facebook Watch on March 6.