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Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Claire Foy Paid Less Than Matt Smith Netflix "The Crown"
The Mary Sue: Variety released information that reveals that Netflix’s The Crown paid Doctor Who actor Matt Smith more than Claire Foy, who plays the titular representation of The Crown, Elizabeth II.
What’s funny about this article, is that this kind of thing happens all. The. time. It’s almost laughable how horrible the pay gap is for leading ladies in television shows. In Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo, the actress whose character the show is named after “Meredith Grey,” was paid less than Patrick Dempsey season after season. Finally they killed him off, but not all shows have the ability to do that. In a show like “The Crown,” where the character is based on a real life person, you can’t just write in the killing of a character, but you can pay the female lead more than her supporting characters. People who say that the pay gap doesn’t exist are the people setting the wages for women in power and clearly that is not fair, and that’s also why nothing has been happening to fix it. Maybe if women were paid more than people who have lesser roles, all would be right in the world, but it’s 2018 and I don’t know if that will ever happen.
I've always found it really weird that people argue women do not have "star power" because I feel like the most intriguing and captivating movies and shows I have seen have been centered on a powerful woman. It seems as if the public responds very well to female centric works so I completely agree with the article when it denounces the argument of Matt Smith's "star power." This show is about the Queen of England so the Queen should be its highest paid performer. I agree with Hannah that those who argue that the wage gap does not exist are perpetuating the problem but I have a much more optimistic view as I think that we, as an industry, are moving towards equal pay. This article is evidence of that as now people are becoming more and more aware of unfair payment and are actively responding against it. The producers of this show are changing their payment contracts moving forward which shows that executives are aware of the public sentiment and are taking steps to fix the inequality.
2 comments:
What’s funny about this article, is that this kind of thing happens all. The. time. It’s almost laughable how horrible the pay gap is for leading ladies in television shows. In Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo, the actress whose character the show is named after “Meredith Grey,” was paid less than Patrick Dempsey season after season. Finally they killed him off, but not all shows have the ability to do that. In a show like “The Crown,” where the character is based on a real life person, you can’t just write in the killing of a character, but you can pay the female lead more than her supporting characters. People who say that the pay gap doesn’t exist are the people setting the wages for women in power and clearly that is not fair, and that’s also why nothing has been happening to fix it. Maybe if women were paid more than people who have lesser roles, all would be right in the world, but it’s 2018 and I don’t know if that will ever happen.
I've always found it really weird that people argue women do not have "star power" because I feel like the most intriguing and captivating movies and shows I have seen have been centered on a powerful woman. It seems as if the public responds very well to female centric works so I completely agree with the article when it denounces the argument of Matt Smith's "star power." This show is about the Queen of England so the Queen should be its highest paid performer. I agree with Hannah that those who argue that the wage gap does not exist are perpetuating the problem but I have a much more optimistic view as I think that we, as an industry, are moving towards equal pay. This article is evidence of that as now people are becoming more and more aware of unfair payment and are actively responding against it. The producers of this show are changing their payment contracts moving forward which shows that executives are aware of the public sentiment and are taking steps to fix the inequality.
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