Salma Hayek has called for actors to take a pay cut to help address the wage disparity issue in Hollywood.
The Frida star was interviewed for the Women in Motion talk series at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday (13May18) and said it will be hard for there to be pay equality unless male stars make sacrifices.
“Time’s up. You had a good run, but it is time now to be generous with the actresses,” she said. “If actors ask such inflated fees it will leave nothing for actresses. If the movie’s budget is $10 million, the (male) actor has to understand that if he is making $9.7 million, it is going to be hard for equality… Otherwise they will kill the movie.”
The Mexican actress has been a leading voice in the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements, and joined forces with 81 other female industry figures, including Cate Blanchett and Ava DuVernay, in a Cannes red carpet protest on Friday to highlight the inequality and treatment of women in Hollywood. Their number represented the 82 films directed by women that have been selected for the festival’s prestigious Palme d’Or competition in its 71-year history, compared to more than 1,600 by men.
Salma is one of many actresses who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment or assault against producer Harvey Weinstein last year (17), and added during the talk that she wished they had gone public with their stories earlier, because change is already happening in Hollywood as a result of actresses joining forces.
“We should have been angrier sooner. More than angrier, because I think we were already angry. We should have come together, because that’s what’s made the difference, we should have come together sooner,” she said.
Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex and disputed Salma’s version of events. She said he specifically contested her and Lupita Nyongo’o claims because they were the “easiest to get discredited” as women of colour.
“It is a well-known fact that if you are a woman of colour people believe in you less and believe what you say less. He went to the weakest links,” she claimed.
