Pay Disparity In Hollywood: Are They Finally Bridging The Gap?
Though there have been improvements in the gender pay gap between men and women in Hollywood, there's still a long way to go.
Talks of pay disparities in Hollywood between male and female leads have come up as of late. The two most notable examples? Florence Pugh and Harry Styles in their upcoming film Don't Worry Darling and Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt in the Jurassic franchise. Though both cases touch on the topic of entertainment's gender pay gap, their outcomes differ quite greatly. Let's bring you up to speed.
Earlier this month, Don't Worry Darling's director Olivia Wilde took to Variety to address rumours of quite a large gender pay gap between Pugh and Styles. "There has been a lot out there that I largely don’t pay attention to," Wilde starts, "but the absurdity of invented clickbait and subsequent reaction regarding a nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me. I’m a woman who has been in this business for over 20 years, and it’s something that I have fought for myself and others, especially being a director. There is absolutely no validity to those claims."
The initial reports of these claims stated the Pugh only earned $700,000 on the film to Styles' $2.5 million. Although it has since been refuted by Wilde, this case seems to be the exception amongst other cases of pay disparities in Hollywood.
Also this month, Bryce Dallas Howard came forward about her experience with the gender pay gap for the Jurassic franchise. Speaking to Insider on this, the actress revealed that she was paid "so much less" than her co-star Chris Pratt over the course of the three movies. And by "so much less", she means a difference of way more than $2 million.
"When I started negotiating for Jurassic, it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies, and so your deals are set," she explains. It seems a tad ridiculous to learn about Howard's lowered pay, considering she was much better known than Pratt at the time of signing.
In 2014, Howard had already racked up a number of acting credits, including her breakout role in The Village (2004) and other notable roles in Spider-Man 3 (2007), The Help (2011) and the Twilight franchise. At the same time, Pratt had only just finished his role as Andy Dwyer in NBC's Parks and Recreation (2009 to 2015), proving that it was not either of their net worths that caused the difference in pay in the first place.
Over the course of the franchise, Pratt has been helping Howard to bridge the gap by pushing for equal pay in other Jurassic opportunities that were not part of the initial contract, such as the series' spinoff video games and theme-park rides.
She goes into further detail: "Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn't been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me: "You guys don't even have to do anything. I'm gonna do all the negotiating. We're gonna be paid the same, and you don't have to think about this, Bryce." And I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I've been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie."
Unfortunately, this will not be the last time women have to fight for equality in their salaries with their male counterparts. Over the course of the last decade, many have stepped forward with their own experiences with the problem.
Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer had her share of pay disparity for her Netflix series Self-Made, emphasising that male leads need to support for their co-stars by lending their voices during negotiations. "When I was negotiating my deal for Madam C.J., LeBron James had to intervene,” she said in an interview. "So we need all our male counterparts to be in the fight with us."
Another Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone agrees with Spencer's plea. "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. 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."
Other examples also involve actresses Ellen Pompeo for Grey's Anatomy, where she plays the lead role, Michelle Williams for All the Money in the World, Charlize Theron for The Huntsman, and the list goes on.
Although the gender pay gap has gotten better over the years due to more people speaking out, it is still necessary for men in the industry to do what they can to help their co-stars achieve equal pay. Whether we like it or not, their voices still carry heavier weight in contractual negotiations due to their privilege as men – as ridiculous as that sounds. The only way from here is up.
