10 celebrities who fought for equal pay for women, from Jessica Chastain’s support for her co-stars and Patricia Arquette’s Oscars speech, to Michelle Williams’ Capitol Hill appearance
- Charlize Theron asked for the same salary as her co-star Chris Hemsworth for The Huntsman, while Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams didn’t earn as much as Bradley Cooper
- Late actor Chadwick Boseman offered part of his pay to Sienna Miller for 21 Bridges, while Claire Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth in Netflix’s The Crown, was paid less than Matt Smith
Although the gender pay gap in the US – and notably, around the world – persists, women are becoming more vocal in standing up against discrimination. In the case of Hollywood, female celebrities are also speaking out on wage differences – here are 10 A-listers that have fought for equal pay.
1. Jessica Chastain told Variety she “drew a line in the sand” when she turned down a role with a wage gap in 2017
Chastain described a phenomenon where film studios would use whatever money was left over from her salary to add to a male actor’s pay, and said that she turned down “something huge” where she would not have been compensated equally.
“I remember afterwards I was like, ‘What did I do? Maybe it was a mistake.’ But it wasn’t, because everyone in the studio system heard what I did,” she said in the 2017 interview. “So what you’re doing is creating a reputation: don’t bring Jessica something where she’s not being fairly compensated compared to the male actor.”
2. Chastain also helped Octavia Spencer negotiate for higher pay
When Spencer told Chastain how much she was making for her film roles, she says Chastain “was quiet, and she said she had no idea that that’s what it was like for women of colour”. Chastain then negotiated higher pay for both herself and Spencer for the film they were working on together.
“I love that woman, because she’s walking the walk and she’s actually talking the talk,” Spencer said at a Sundance Film Festival panel called “Women Breaking Barriers” in 2018. “She said, ‘Octavia, we’re gonna get you paid on this film. You and I are gonna be tied together. We’re gonna be favoured nations, and we’re gonna make the same thing.’ Fast forward to last week, we’re making five times what we asked for.”
3. Michelle Williams said she felt “paralysed” after learning that her co-star Mark Wahlberg had been paid significantly more
