Back in March, it was revealed thatThe Crownactress, Claire Foy, was paid less than her co-star, Matt Smith, for her role in the Netflix show.
The gender pay gap in Hollywood has been a hot topic of discussion this year.
According to Variety, the producers of the royal drama confirmed that Claire earned less than Matt for the first two seasons of the show.
Claire, who played Queen Elizabeth II, was apparently paid less than Matt, who starred as her husband Prince Phillip, because he was more famous due to his role as Doctor Who.
While it hasn’t been confirmed how much Matt Smith was paid, Variety revealed that Claire Foy made $40,000 an episode. Speaking at the time, the actress told Entertainment Weekly: “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. 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. ’
“But I know that Matt feels the same that I do, that it’s odd to find yourself at the center of a story that you didn’t particularly ask for. ”
Fans were shocked by the revelation, taking to Twitter in their droves to discuss the gender pay gap.
I don’t even watch #TheCrown but this is ridiculous. Claire Foy is the whole. damn. show. It literally does not work without her. She deserves back pay to make up for this.
– Samantha? ? ? ? ? ? ? (@Erulastiel14) March 13, 2018
Producer Susan Mackie confirmed that this disparity in pay would be fixed, adding: “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen. ”
Then, in a statement to the Daily Mail, Left Bank Productions, the company behind The Crown, said: “As the producers of The Crown, we are responsible for budgets and salaries. The actors are not aware of who gets what and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues.
“We are absolutely united with the fight for fair pay, free of gender bias and for a rebalancing of the industry’s treatment of women in front of the camera and behind the scenes. ”
However, Claire has dismissed the reports that she is being back-paid.
Speaking to Al Arabiya, she said: “That was what was reported that I was back-paid. I’ve never mentioned anything about it and neither have the producers. The fact that that is ‘fact’ – is not quite correct.
“Yes it’s Netflix, but it’s a British production company. It happened at the same time as it was coming out with a lot of other people that there was a lot of pay inequality across the board – in the music industry, in journalism, in every industry. It’s across the board that it became part of a bigger conversation, which is an odd place to find yourself in. ”
GLAMOUR has reached out to Claire’s rep for comment and will update you when we hear back.
Olivia Coleman will take on the role of the Queen in Season 3 of the show and we’re glad to hear that she’ll be rewarded for her efforts.
