01of 27Jennifer LawrenceHan Myung-Gu/WireImageAfter it was revealedin the 2014 Sony hackthat Lawrence had earned less money than her maleAmerican Hustlecostars, she reflected on why she hadn’t fought for more moneyin a pointed essay for Lenny Letter.“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,” she wrote. “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.“In 2021she touched on the issue againwhen it was revealed she made $5 million less thanDon’t Look UpcostarLeonardo DiCaprio.“Look, Leo brings in more box office than I do. I’m extremely fortunate and happy with my deal,” she toldVanity Fair. “But in other situations, what I have seen — and I’m sure other women in the workforce have seen as well — is that it’s extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay. And if you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity but they can’t tell you what exactly it is.”
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Jennifer Lawrence
Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
After it was revealedin the 2014 Sony hackthat Lawrence had earned less money than her maleAmerican Hustlecostars, she reflected on why she hadn’t fought for more moneyin a pointed essay for Lenny Letter.
“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,” she wrote. “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.”
In 2021she touched on the issue againwhen it was revealed she made $5 million less thanDon’t Look UpcostarLeonardo DiCaprio.
“Look, Leo brings in more box office than I do. I’m extremely fortunate and happy with my deal,” she toldVanity Fair. “But in other situations, what I have seen — and I’m sure other women in the workforce have seen as well — is that it’s extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay. And if you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity but they can’t tell you what exactly it is.”
02of 27Michelle WilliamsOn Equal Pay Day 2019, the actress went to Capitol Hill to discuss the gender pay gap — an issue she is all too familiar with after realizing she was paid $1,000 to Mark Wahlberg’s $1.5 million for reshoots of their filmAll the Money in the World.“No one cared,” she said of the 2017 news story. “This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home.“After the story gained traction thanks to Jessica Chastain blowing it up on Twitter — and a $2 million donation was made to the Time’s Up Defense Fund — “I could tell my workplace was shifting,” she said. “Rather than being grasped too tightly or hugged for too long as a morning greeting, my hand was shaken and I was looked squarely in the eye and I was welcomed to my Monday morning.“Williams added, “On the job I just completed two weeks ago, I have to tell you, I was paid equally with my male costar.”
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Michelle Williams
On Equal Pay Day 2019, the actress went to Capitol Hill to discuss the gender pay gap — an issue she is all too familiar with after realizing she was paid $1,000 to Mark Wahlberg’s $1.5 million for reshoots of their filmAll the Money in the World.
“No one cared,” she said of the 2017 news story. “This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home.”
After the story gained traction thanks to Jessica Chastain blowing it up on Twitter — and a $2 million donation was made to the Time’s Up Defense Fund — “I could tell my workplace was shifting,” she said. “Rather than being grasped too tightly or hugged for too long as a morning greeting, my hand was shaken and I was looked squarely in the eye and I was welcomed to my Monday morning.”
Williams added, “On the job I just completed two weeks ago, I have to tell you, I was paid equally with my male costar.”
03of 27Julianna MarguliesDeadline/REX/ShutterstockMarguliessaid she nearly reprised her Emmy-winning role of Alicia Florrick on the third season ofThe Good Fight —CBS All Access' spinoff toThe Good Wife —but ultimately turned it down when CBS allegedly wouldn’t meet her rate.“To be perfectly honest, I was shocked,” Margulies toldDeadline. “I was more surprised than hurt. I thought, ‘What are you worth?’ ““I’m not a guest star; I started the whole thing withThe Good Wife,” Margulies said. “I wanted to be paid my worth and stand up for equal pay. if Jon Hamm came back for aMad Menspinoff or Kiefer Sutherland wanted to do a24spinoff, they would be paid.““If you are worthless, if you are not valued for your work, than what’s the point?” she added.
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Julianna Margulies
Deadline/REX/Shutterstock
Marguliessaid she nearly reprised her Emmy-winning role of Alicia Florrick on the third season ofThe Good Fight —CBS All Access' spinoff toThe Good Wife —but ultimately turned it down when CBS allegedly wouldn’t meet her rate.
“To be perfectly honest, I was shocked,” Margulies toldDeadline. “I was more surprised than hurt. I thought, ‘What are you worth?’ "
“I’m not a guest star; I started the whole thing withThe Good Wife,” Margulies said. “I wanted to be paid my worth and stand up for equal pay. if Jon Hamm came back for aMad Menspinoff or Kiefer Sutherland wanted to do a24spinoff, they would be paid.”
“If you are worthless, if you are not valued for your work, than what’s the point?” she added.
04of 27Taraji P. HensonParas Griffin/Getty Images for STX FilmsIn an interview withVariety, the actress recalled how she asked for $500,000 for her role inThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button —a part that earned her an Oscar nomination — but she was paid just $150,000.“I’m number three on the call sheet. Does that make sense to you?” she said.While she added that she doesn’t expect to be paid as much asBenjamin ButtonstarBrad Pitt— “I don’t open movies like he does,” she said — she did talk about a time she turned down work over stalled salary negotiations.“If you want a discount performance, go get it,” she shared. “They’re out there. But you’re not getting it from me. I deliver, and I have the track record to prove it.”
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Taraji P. Henson
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for STX Films
In an interview withVariety, the actress recalled how she asked for $500,000 for her role inThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button —a part that earned her an Oscar nomination — but she was paid just $150,000.
“I’m number three on the call sheet. Does that make sense to you?” she said.
While she added that she doesn’t expect to be paid as much asBenjamin ButtonstarBrad Pitt— “I don’t open movies like he does,” she said — she did talk about a time she turned down work over stalled salary negotiations.
“If you want a discount performance, go get it,” she shared. “They’re out there. But you’re not getting it from me. I deliver, and I have the track record to prove it.”
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Ellen Pompeo
SplashNews
06of 27
Catt Sadler
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
“That was really hard to swallow, but you know information is supposed to be power and when my team began negotiations knowing what we knew, that was the barometer in which I expected to be paid, based on the law and based on what I know to be fair. And what I believe in my heart of hearts is reasonable,” she explained about asking to be compensated the same as her co-host and friend, Jason Kennedy, who serves as co-host ofE! Newsas well as a correspondent for red carpet coverage.
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Octavia Spencer
LISA O’CONNOR/AFP/Getty Images
Spencer has spoken out not once but twice about being paid less than costars, most recently in 2019 on a Sundance Film Festival panel.
“I have to say, when I was negotiating my deal forMadam C.J., [executive producer] LeBron James had to intervene,” Spencer, who holds the title role in the series, said,according to IndieWire. “So we need all our male counterparts to be in the fight with us.”
“I think my goal is to make sure that all women of color get equal pay, and allwomenget equal pay,” Spencer said. “The only way to do it is to have these conversations, to talk numbers with your costars. Jessica and I stood together, and that was interesting that she would take that position — well, I mean, she is Jessica Chastain — but we also need advocates and allies in negotiating.”
08of 27Amy SchumerSteve Granitz/WireImageAfter learning how much Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock were getting paid for their Netflix standup specials, theSnatchedstar asked for a pay bump for her “The Leather Special,” which was released on the streaming service. However,Schumer took to Instagramto clarify her salary renegotiation, sharing that she doesn’t feel she’s deserving of her colleagues' exact salaries just yet.“I believe women deserve equal pay. However I don’t believe I deserve equal pay to Chris and Dave,” she wrote on Instagram, adding: “I didn’t ask for the same as my friends. I did ask for more than the initial offer. I will continue to work my ass off and be the best performer I can be. The reports of me ‘demanding’ or ‘insisting’ on equal pay to them aren’t true.”
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Amy Schumer
Steve Granitz/WireImage
After learning how much Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock were getting paid for their Netflix standup specials, theSnatchedstar asked for a pay bump for her “The Leather Special,” which was released on the streaming service. However,Schumer took to Instagramto clarify her salary renegotiation, sharing that she doesn’t feel she’s deserving of her colleagues' exact salaries just yet.
“I believe women deserve equal pay. However I don’t believe I deserve equal pay to Chris and Dave,” she wrote on Instagram, adding: “I didn’t ask for the same as my friends. I did ask for more than the initial offer. I will continue to work my ass off and be the best performer I can be. The reports of me ‘demanding’ or ‘insisting’ on equal pay to them aren’t true.”
09of 27Claire FoyAfterVarietyhad reported that Foy was paid less than herThe Crowncostar Matt Smith, the actress spoke toEntertainment Weeklyto address her thoughts on the situation.“I’m surprised because I’m at the center of it, and anything that I’m at the center of like that is very very odd, and feels very very out of ordinary,” Foy toldEW. “But I’m not [surprised about the interest in the story] in the sense that it was a female-led drama. I’m not surprised that people saw [the story] and went, ‘Oh, that’s a bit odd.'”
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Claire Foy
AfterVarietyhad reported that Foy was paid less than herThe Crowncostar Matt Smith, the actress spoke toEntertainment Weeklyto address her thoughts on the situation.
“I’m surprised because I’m at the center of it, and anything that I’m at the center of like that is very very odd, and feels very very out of ordinary,” Foy toldEW. “But I’m not [surprised about the interest in the story] in the sense that it was a female-led drama. I’m not surprised that people saw [the story] and went, ‘Oh, that’s a bit odd.'”
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Oprah Winfrey
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
“I built this show around myself and the producers. We were young women in our 30s trying to figure it out and find our own way,” Winfrey said. “I was making a lot of money, and my producers were still getting the same salary. I went to my boss at the time and I said, ‘Everybody needs a raise.’ And he said, ‘Why?’ "
She continued: “He actually said to me, ‘They’re only girls. They’re a bunch of girls. What do they need more money for?’ I go, ‘Well, either they’re gonna get raises, or I’m gonna sit down. I will not work unless they get paid.’ And so they did.”
11of 27Emma StoneKyle Rover/startraksIn a candid interview with Out Magazine, the Oscar winner spoke out about the gender pay gap in the film industry, and how some of her male costars have willingly helped bridge the gap. “In my career so far, I’ve needed my male costars to take a pay cut so that I may have parity with them,” she said. “And that’s something they do for me because they feel it’s what’s right and fair.“She continued: “If my male co-star, who has a higher quote than me but believes we are equal, takes a pay cut so that I can match him, that changes my quote in the future and changes my life.”
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Emma Stone
Kyle Rover/startraks
In a candid interview with Out Magazine, the Oscar winner spoke out about the gender pay gap in the film industry, and how some of her male costars have willingly helped bridge the gap. “In my career so far, I’ve needed my male costars to take a pay cut so that I may have parity with them,” she said. “And that’s something they do for me because they feel it’s what’s right and fair.”
She continued: “If my male co-star, who has a higher quote than me but believes we are equal, takes a pay cut so that I can match him, that changes my quote in the future and changes my life.”
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Nicholas Hunt/Getty
“It’s a scary place,” the actress toldGlamour. “You will be rejected. I was rejected many times. I cried. I was told that female actors are replaceable in films because they just stand behind a guy anyway.”
“I’m still used to being paid — like most actresses around the world — a lot less than the boys,” she continued. “We’re told we’re too provocative or that being sexy is our strength, which it can be, and it is, but that’s not the only thing we have.”
13of 27Jessica ChastainGetty"There’s no excuse,” Chastain told Variety in response to Lawrence’s essay. “There’s no reason why [an actress such as Lawrence] should be doing a film with other actors and get paid less than her male costars. It’s completely unfair. It’s not right. It’s been happening for years and years and years. I think it’s brave to talk about it. I think everyone should talk about it.”
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Jessica Chastain
Getty
“There’s no excuse,” Chastain told Variety in response to Lawrence’s essay. “There’s no reason why [an actress such as Lawrence] should be doing a film with other actors and get paid less than her male costars. It’s completely unfair. It’s not right. It’s been happening for years and years and years. I think it’s brave to talk about it. I think everyone should talk about it.”
14of 27Natalie PortmanNeilson Barnard/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via GettyPortman revealed that she’d been paid one-third of what her costar Ashton Kutcher made for 2011’sNo Strings Attached. “Compared to men, in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar,” Portman explained. “In Hollywood, we are making 30 cents to the dollar.”
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Natalie Portman
Neilson Barnard/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Portman revealed that she’d been paid one-third of what her costar Ashton Kutcher made for 2011’sNo Strings Attached. “Compared to men, in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar,” Portman explained. “In Hollywood, we are making 30 cents to the dollar.”
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Sandra Bullock
16of 27Amy AdamsJamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesIn the actress’s Allure cover story, she lamented the wage gap in Hollywood, but also for women in all industries. “That’s what is so great about what Emma Watson is doing,” Adams said of the star’s HeforShe initiative. “She’s not talking about actresses; she’s talking about women all over the world.“Adams also opened up about her own experience with receiving less than her male colleagues. “I wasn’t comfortable [talking about it] because I don’t feel bad for myself as an actress,” she said. “I feel really fortunate. I started doing research, and it was striking how women don’t feel comfortable negotiating for raises.”
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Amy Adams
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
In the actress’s Allure cover story, she lamented the wage gap in Hollywood, but also for women in all industries. “That’s what is so great about what Emma Watson is doing,” Adams said of the star’s HeforShe initiative. “She’s not talking about actresses; she’s talking about women all over the world.”
Adams also opened up about her own experience with receiving less than her male colleagues. “I wasn’t comfortable [talking about it] because I don’t feel bad for myself as an actress,” she said. “I feel really fortunate. I started doing research, and it was striking how women don’t feel comfortable negotiating for raises.”
17of 27Meryl StreepDia Dipasupil/GettyThe legendary actress spoke candidly about her thoughts on the gender pay gap in Hollywood in a 2016 interview withTime, saying, “Men are ashamed that they’re getting that money. It used to be, everybody didn’t say anything about it, so it was kind of fine. Now they’re a little more nervous that somebody will find out what they make vis-a-vis their co-star.““That’s the best vigilance: the vigilance of privilege,” she continued. “People will always be battling and whining about it. When the other side says, ‘You know, I think that sucks’—that’s great.”
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Meryl Streep
Dia Dipasupil/Getty
The legendary actress spoke candidly about her thoughts on the gender pay gap in Hollywood in a 2016 interview withTime, saying, “Men are ashamed that they’re getting that money. It used to be, everybody didn’t say anything about it, so it was kind of fine. Now they’re a little more nervous that somebody will find out what they make vis-a-vis their co-star.”
“That’s the best vigilance: the vigilance of privilege,” she continued. “People will always be battling and whining about it. When the other side says, ‘You know, I think that sucks’—that’s great.”
18of 27Carli LloydHarry How/GettyFormer co-captain of the United States women’s national team — and author of the memoir,When Nobody Was Watching— the two-time Olympic gold medal winnerwrote an op-ed for theNew York Timeson joining four teammatesin filing a safe-discrimination complaint against U.S. Soccer in March.“If I were a male soccer player who won a World Cup for the United States, my bonus would be $390,000. Because I am a female soccer player, the bonus I got for our World Cup victory last summer was $75,000,” she wrote.“I understand that the men’s World Cup generates vastly more money globally than the women’s event, but the simple truth is that U.S. Soccer projects that our team will generate a profit of $5.2 million in 2017 while the men are forecast to lose almost $1 million. Yet we get shortchanged coming and going.”
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Carli Lloyd
Harry How/Getty
Former co-captain of the United States women’s national team — and author of the memoir,When Nobody Was Watching— the two-time Olympic gold medal winnerwrote an op-ed for theNew York Timeson joining four teammatesin filing a safe-discrimination complaint against U.S. Soccer in March.
“If I were a male soccer player who won a World Cup for the United States, my bonus would be $390,000. Because I am a female soccer player, the bonus I got for our World Cup victory last summer was $75,000,” she wrote.
“I understand that the men’s World Cup generates vastly more money globally than the women’s event, but the simple truth is that U.S. Soccer projects that our team will generate a profit of $5.2 million in 2017 while the men are forecast to lose almost $1 million. Yet we get shortchanged coming and going.”
19of 27Christina HendricksSplash News OnlineHendricks is best known for playing a 1960s working woman in an office oozing with sexism. This fact made theMad Menactress’gender equality PSA for Funny or Dieall the more fitting. In the clip, Hendricks goes to work in a “modern office,” but still retains the professional sensibilities her character, Joan, picked up in the ’60s, including smoking and drinking at work, using a typewriter and being completely lost when it comes to today’s technology.When a “colleague” expresses confusion at her outdated actions, she says that if she’s going to work in a world that pays women like it’s the 1960s, she’s going to act like it, too. Hendricks owns the scene, as usual.
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Christina Hendricks
Splash News Online
Hendricks is best known for playing a 1960s working woman in an office oozing with sexism. This fact made theMad Menactress’gender equality PSA for Funny or Dieall the more fitting. In the clip, Hendricks goes to work in a “modern office,” but still retains the professional sensibilities her character, Joan, picked up in the ’60s, including smoking and drinking at work, using a typewriter and being completely lost when it comes to today’s technology.
When a “colleague” expresses confusion at her outdated actions, she says that if she’s going to work in a world that pays women like it’s the 1960s, she’s going to act like it, too. Hendricks owns the scene, as usual.
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Patricia Arquette
“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” she said. “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”
21of 27Kerry WashingtonRich Fury/Invision/APWe can’t imagine Olivia Pope would ever accept being paid a lesser salary than a male colleague — and it appears her offscreen counterpart feels the same way.Washington tweetedin favor of Equal Pay Day as part of Levo League’s #Ask4More campaign.
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Kerry Washington
Rich Fury/Invision/AP
We can’t imagine Olivia Pope would ever accept being paid a lesser salary than a male colleague — and it appears her offscreen counterpart feels the same way.Washington tweetedin favor of Equal Pay Day as part of Levo League’s #Ask4More campaign.
22of 27Emma WatsonJohn Shearer/Invision/APThe HeForShe founder is a stringent supporter of gender equality across all facets of life. In 2014,she gave a rousing speech at the United Nationsto launch her gender equality initiative, speaking out about the demonization of the word “feminist,” the responsibility of both sexes to solve gender inequality and, of course, the importance of equal pay.“I think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts,” she said. “I think it is right that I should make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.”
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Emma Watson
John Shearer/Invision/AP
The HeForShe founder is a stringent supporter of gender equality across all facets of life. In 2014,she gave a rousing speech at the United Nationsto launch her gender equality initiative, speaking out about the demonization of the word “feminist,” the responsibility of both sexes to solve gender inequality and, of course, the importance of equal pay.
“I think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts,” she said. “I think it is right that I should make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.”
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Charlize Theron
24of 27BeyoncéIf you’ve listened to Beyoncé’s tune “***Flawless,” in which she samples sound bites from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech “We Should All Be Feminists,” you know that the icon is all about gender equality. Perhaps less known than her musical activism, however, is Beyoncé’s essay, “Gender Equality Is a Myth,” in which she discussed the dismal state of gender equality todayin The Shriver Report.“Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes,” she wrote. “But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters earn more — commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.”
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Beyoncé
If you’ve listened to Beyoncé’s tune “***Flawless,” in which she samples sound bites from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech “We Should All Be Feminists,” you know that the icon is all about gender equality. Perhaps less known than her musical activism, however, is Beyoncé’s essay, “Gender Equality Is a Myth,” in which she discussed the dismal state of gender equality todayin The Shriver Report.
“Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes,” she wrote. “But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters earn more — commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.”
25of 27Sarah SilvermanXavier Collin/Image Press/Splash News OnlineDuring a sit-down with Levo League, Silverman shared a personal experience with wage equality, in which she was paid $10 for a 15-minute stand-up comedy performance. After leaving the theater, she discovered men who did the exact same job made significantly more money than she did: $60.“I’m all for women having to work harder to prove themselves at this juncture, if that’s the way it is in the world,” she said. “But if you work a job, and a man is working the same job, you should be getting paid the same.”
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Sarah Silverman
Xavier Collin/Image Press/Splash News Online
During a sit-down with Levo League, Silverman shared a personal experience with wage equality, in which she was paid $10 for a 15-minute stand-up comedy performance. After leaving the theater, she discovered men who did the exact same job made significantly more money than she did: $60.
“I’m all for women having to work harder to prove themselves at this juncture, if that’s the way it is in the world,” she said. “But if you work a job, and a man is working the same job, you should be getting paid the same.”
26of 27Chloë Grace MoretzIn recognition of Equal Pay Day,the actress tweeted a photoof her hand holding 78 cents – the amount a woman makes today for every man’s dollar.
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Chloë Grace Moretz
In recognition of Equal Pay Day,the actress tweeted a photoof her hand holding 78 cents – the amount a woman makes today for every man’s dollar.
27of 27Amy PoehlerDan MacMedan-USA TODAYPoehler has long considered herself a feminist, even apologizing afterTaylor Swiftcalled her and Tina Fey out for what she called an anti-female joke. Poehler spoke out again on Equal Pay Day, this time, to encourage women to ask for the salaries they deserve. “It is not overreacting to ask for what you want and need,” she said.
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Amy Poehler
Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY
Poehler has long considered herself a feminist, even apologizing afterTaylor Swiftcalled her and Tina Fey out for what she called an anti-female joke. Poehler spoke out again on Equal Pay Day, this time, to encourage women to ask for the salaries they deserve. “It is not overreacting to ask for what you want and need,” she said.
source: people.com
