If anyone needed an example of why the Time’s Up movement exist, they only have to look to Michelle Williams, 37. The internet erupted in fury when it heard that the Golden Globe nominated actress was paid less than $1,000 for reshooting scenes on All The Money In The World, while he co-star, Mark Wahlberg, 46, supposedly made $1.5 million, according to Huffington Post. Upon hearing this report, Amber Tamblyn called the pay gap “totally unacceptable,” while producer Judd Apatow said the story was “so messed up that it is almost hard to believe.”
Sadly, it’s all too real in Hollywood for a female actress to make shockingly less than her male co-star. Angelina Jolie, 42, and Brad Pitt, 54, were both gigantic stars when they appeared in 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but while Brad took home roughly $20 million for his part, Angie only made half of that. Similarly, Jennifer Lawrence, 27, and Amy Adams, 43, were equally if not even more famous than their American Hustle co-stars Jeremy Renner, 47, Christian Bale, 43, and Bradley Cooper, 43. Yet, the men made 9% of the film’s profits (which was $150 million, according to Box Office Mojo) while the women only got 7%.
This info was made public with the infamous Sony Hack. “When…I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself,” Jennifer wrote when responding to this revelation in 2015, per Huffington Post. “I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need.”
“I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’ At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn’t worry about being ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled,’” she added.
Michelle Williams was paid 1% of what her male co-star made on her latest film. This is totally unacceptable. https://t.co/xE5ZNqjcrA
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) January 10, 2018
Please go see Michelle's performance in All The Money in The World. She's a brilliant Oscar nominated Golden Globe winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 yrs. She deserves more than 1% of her male costar' s salary. https://t.co/HIniew6lf7
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) January 10, 2018
This is so messed up that it is almost hard to believe. Almost. This is how this business works. I wonder if the studio or Wahlberg will do something to make the situation less insane. https://t.co/RsunBlOeCk
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) January 10, 2018
The pay gap doesn’t just apply to movies. Robin Wright, 51, who is as integral to House Of Cards’ success as Kevin Spacey, 58, was making less than him in 2014. He was reportedly pulling in $500,000 per episode, while she was making $420,000. She demanded equal pay in 2016. Similarly, Gillian Anderson, 49, fought to be paid as much as David Duchovny, 57, during the first run of The X-Files in the 1990s. She was reportedly offered “half” of David’s salary for the reboot. She fought, yet again, to be paid fairly for her work.
As of Aug. 2017, women are paid 20% less than their male counterparts performing the same job, according to a study done by the Institute For Women’s Policy Research (via CNBC.) Some experts argue that women won’t reach pay equity with men until 2152. Others argue, after observing millennial women demand equal pay, that the new generation of professional women may even surpass men in the next few years. Here’s hoping the efforts of Time’s Up and similar moments mean everyone gets a fair and equal paycheck.
Check out the gallery above for more examples. HollywoodLifers, are you shocked when you heard about Michelle Williams reportedly getting paid so little?