Though the fight for women’s equality in this country has come a long way, there is still so much work to do, especially when it comes to attacks on women’s health rights and equal pay. Recently, some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Jennifer Lawrence and Shameless star Emmy Rossum have spoken up about the disgusting pay gap in the entertainment industry. Rossum even halted production the Showtime series, until she was given the pay that she deserves for her critically acclaimed work.
Jackie star, Natalie Portman is the latest actress to speak her truth when it comes to unequal pay. Portman recently sat down with Marie Claire UK where she revealed, Ashton Kutcher was paid three times as much as me on No Strings Attached. I knew and I went along with it because there’s this thing with ‘quotes’ in Hollywood. His [quote] was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more. I wasn’t as pissed as I should have been. I mean, we get paid a lot, so it’s hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy.”
Though Portman is not asking for a pity party considering the great amount of money that Hollywood stars are paid for their work, she went on to point out that while women in other industries are paid about $0.72 for every dollar a man makes. In Hollywood, are only making $.30 for every man’s dollar.
Natalie Portman isn’t stopping at the pay gap when it comes to women’s right. For her upcoming film where she portrays Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she insisted on a female director. Portman told Marie Claire UK, “I don’t think women and men are more or less capable [as directors], we just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities,” she added. “We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem. As this story is specifically about gender discrimination, I was like, ‘How dare we not hire a female.’”
Are you excited to see Portman as Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Let us know in the comments below.
