The world has come a long way in terms of technology and innovation. And we hope to achieve the same heights in the growth of society. People are slowly waking up to unfair practices and raising voice against it. Cinema and entertainment are one of the many industries that have been following unequal pay for ages. But the influx of awareness in recent years has triggered the celebs to raise their voices. They are using their platform and influence to advocate for parity in incomes in similar roles. The gender pay gap is still pretty wide but we can already see some productions dropping their old practices. Find out the 10 times when actors spoke against unequal pay in Hollywood.
Amanda Seyfried
The “Mamma Mia!” actress never gets involved in controversies or fights. We have mostly seen her in a calm and cheerful avatar. But even she knows when to put your foot down. Amanda walked out of a big project when the producers refused to pay her any more than 10% of her co-star’s fee. According to her, both of them had equal contributions to the film and therefore deserved to be paid equally. “I think people think that just because I’m easy-going and game to do things I’ll just take as little as they offer… It’s not about how much you get; it’s about how fair it is,” she said.
Jessica Chastain
Jessica is aware of her worth and will not settle for anything lesser than what she deserves. She walked out of a big project when they refused to pay her fairly. The actress has also fought for her costar, Octavia Spencer, and earned both of them a fee that was five times higher than the asking price.
Claire Foy
Claire Foy is a talented actress who recently rose to prominence after playing Queen Elizabeth in “The Crown”. She played the protagonist and the face of the Netflix show but received way lesser than Matt Smith who played Prince Phillip. According to the producers, Matt was already an established name from his “Doctor Who” days. Foy didn’t stay silent on the matter either and replied that this embarrassing experience taught her to be more vocal about her rights. This sparked a lot of controversies and compelled Left Bank Pictures to issue an apology and compensate her salary with $275,000.
Chadwick Boseman
The beloved MCU actor, Chadwick Boseman was admired and respected, even without his Black Panther suit. His morals and benevolence reflected in his professional and personal life. When he learnt that the studio was at dissent with his costar Sienna Miller over a fair salary, he stepped forward and compensated the pay gap with a portion of his earnings.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer is one of the highest-paid actresses in the film industry. She earned this status after she stopped feeling shy to ask for equal pay. The Oscar winner used to be afraid of coming across as “difficult and spoiled”. But now she unapologetically objects to anything that she finds unfair and wrong.
Gillian Anderson
It’s quite inspiring to see the woman who played the Iron Lady in “The Crown” display the same courage behind the scenes. Gillian is internationally known for “X-Files” and her terrific performance as Margaret Thatcher in “The Crown”. For ten years, her “X-Files” costar, David Duchovny was paid a significantly higher fee than her. The gap persisted even when they were called back for a revival in 2016. But this time, Anderson knew her worth and opened up about it in interviews. The network finally conceded and paid her and David equally.
Charlize Theron
The “Monster” actress is a gem to Hollywood for her versatile and powerful performance. When Sony’s hacked emails revealed that she was being paid lesser than Chris Hemsworth in “The Huntsman: Winter’s War”, Charlize approached the producers and demanded equal pay.
Robin Wright
The “House of Cards” star, Robin Wright was reportedly paid $80,000 lesser than Kevin Spacey per episode even though they were equally crucial to the show. When her eyes opened on the matter, Robin went to the producers and warned that she’d go public if the disparity wasn’t resolved.
Emmy Rossum
Despite being one of the prime stars on the show, Emmy was paid lesser than William H. Macy, who played her father. She refused to return for the eighth season unless she was making as much as William from the show. Emmy said that one of the biggest supports came from William himself. “To have the man counterpart on my show be like, ‘Yes, she does deserve this and more’ was so validating. And after it became public, it was a quick resolution.” she said in an interview.
Patricia Arquette
Patricia showed extreme courage when she brought up the issue of gender wage gap during her acceptance speech at the Oscars. The actress has been fighting for this cause since a long time ago and also took it to the Capitol Hill. During an interview, she said “I’ve walked away from several jobs because they were giving me really bullsh** deals that were really sh**** and different from men in a really f***** up way,”
