Jessica Chastain and More Get Michelle Williams’ Back for Being Paid 1500x Less Than Mark Wahlberg
Female celebs came out in force to speak up for Williams after news broke that she was paid a fraction of co-star Mark Wahlberg’s salary for ‘All the Money in the World’ reshoots.
Sony Pictures
As women in Hollywood are declaring #TimesUp on gender inequality, the industry was given a sharp reminder of how far it has to come on Tuesday night.
USA Today broke the news that the four-time Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams was paid a miniscule fraction of the payday her All the Money in the World co-star Mark Wahlberg received when filmmaker Ridley Scott decided to reshoot all of accused sexual predator Kevin Spacey’s scenes with replacement Christopher Plummer.
While Wahlberg reportedly received $1.5 million for his supporting turn, the film’s lead Williams—who received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance—got nothing more than her $80 per diem, totaling less than $1,000. To add insult to injury, director Scott claimed last month that both actors reshot their scenes for free. “Everyone did it for nothing,” he said.
Furthermore, both Wahlberg and Williams are represented by the same Hollywood talent agency, William Morris Endeavor. So the same agency negotiated minuscule compensation for Williams and a hefty payday for Wahlberg—who just so happens to be good pals with the head of WME, Ari Emanuel, who served as the inspiration for the Entourage character Ari Gold.
The reaction from Williams’ fellow Hollywood actresses was swift and defiant, with her fellow Golden Globes nominee Jessica Chastain leading the charge:
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
Others followed Chastain’s lead, letting WME know that the discrepancy was “unacceptable”:
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
UNACCEPTABLE. UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TO SAY THE LEAST. https://t.co/KS6hRmE4TA
— Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) January 10, 2018
Outrageously unfair- but it’s always been like this. I was never, ever paid even a quarter of what the male lead received: Wahlberg got $1.5M for 'All the Money' reshoot, Williams paid less than $1,000 https://t.co/LrOjrHVjcp
— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) January 10, 2018
Exposing the gross disparity in pay & hard evidence of the gender gap— negotiated by the SAME agents no less! — isn’t a witch hunt. It’s a demand for fair practices. One person suggesting he step up for a costar, or women in general, is just a suggestion. Not a Putin-level order.
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) January 10, 2018
Lot of lessons here. Always know your worth, being among them. I'm not blaming Michelle Williams at all, but this is why women should never feel guilty about being demanding. https://t.co/GngsvkN82d
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) January 10, 2018
As USA Today reported, when Scott first contacted Williams—who brought #MeToo founder Tarana Burke as her Golden Globes date this past weekend—about the unprecedented reshoots, she told him, “I’d be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort.”
Apparently, Wahlberg didn’t feel the same way.
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