Gretchen Carlson Says Being Portrayed in Bombshell Is 'Totally Worth It'

Gretchen Carlson is speaking up about being a key figure in the film Bombshell.

The former Fox News host spoke to PEOPLE about her thoughts on the film in which she is portrayed by Nicole Kidman after the Golden Globe Awards aired on Sunday night.

“I couldn’t take part in any of these projects,” Carlson, 53, tells PEOPLE. “But to go see it with my family, it’s like there’s mom. I have to look at the big picture.”

She continued, “If these projects encourage any women to come forward then it’s totally worth it to me. I just have to look past the part of being able to participate.”

Carlson has since turned her focus to other projects.

“I’m working incredibly hard to make sure women aren’t silenced anymore,” she tells PEOPLE. “I created a new organization three weeks ago called Lift Our Voices. We’re trying to eradicate non-disclosures so that women are not muzzled anymore.”

She adds, “That’s sort of my response to not being able to participate in these projects.”

RELATED: Nicole Kidman Says Meryl Streep Convinced Her to Play Gretchen Carlson in Bombshell

Before the show started, Carlson spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet about possibly meeting Kidman, 52, at the award show.

“I’m sitting with Naomi Watts, who has become a great friend of mine since she portrayed me in The Loudest Voice. I’m really hoping I can meet Nicole Kidman who is portraying me Bombshell,” Carlson said. “As you know, I can’t participate in these projects so I’ve never met Nicole yet. But I feel like she really captured my fighting spirit in the movie.”

She added, “I’d also like to meet Meryl Streep because she apparently convinced Nicole to take the role.”

Carlson left Fox & Friends in 2013 and launched a new program called The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson. She filed a lawsuit against then-Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes in July 2016, claiming sexual harassment.

The lawsuit led to dozens of other women stepping forward with similar accusations against Ailes, who was forced to resign. Carlson and 21st Century Fox settled the lawsuit for $20 million, according to Vanity Fair. Ailes died in May 2017.

Bombshell is in theaters and stars Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow and Kate McKinnon.