Proving that workplace inequality can be an issue for even Hollywood's leading ladies, the question of which one of Amanda Seyfried's male co-stars for paid ten times more than her is currently doing the rounds.
A few days ago, Amanda Seyfried said the following in an interview with The Sunday Times: "A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10 percent of what my male co-star was getting. And we were pretty even in status."
Now everyone is scrambling around IMDB trying to decipher who she was talking about. The general consensus is that she's referring to Les Misérables, in which she starred alongside Eddie Redmayne, who obviously wasn't an Oscar Winner at the time. She could also be insinuating that it was Justin Timberlake - while they would be deemed equal in the acting world, he's also got that popstar lark feathering his cap.
And the final on the list of suspects is Dominic Cooper. The pair starred in Mamma Mia but that was way more than a few years ago.
Amanda Seyfried exposes the gender pay gap in Hollywood--she made how much less?! http://t.co/m9K7xKFBsx pic.twitter.com/eGdBxeWuVW
— E! Online (@eonline) July 14, 2015
As for other not-so-big-budget films she could be alluding to; she starred alongside Chris Pratt and Adam Brody in Jennifer's Body back in 2009, and James Franco and Brody again in Lovelace. We could go on, but what's the point. It'll just get more depressing. TEN TIMES more than what she earned, despite them being cohorts.
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Regarding why she was paid less, Amanda had this theory: "I think people think that just because I'm easy-going and game to do things I'll just take as little as they offer."
To be honest, that's irrelevant, it doesn't make the fact that anyone in a similar role, sharing similar experience, would be paid ten times more than you.
Hats off to all the female actresses who have started talking about the industry. Hopefully they'll pave the way for their predecessors. Because, so far - for Amanda - it's not a walk in the park...
"People see my face and they think it's a prize. It’s something to win, something to get. I'm not a real person to them, I'm just something to check off their f****** list. How does that sound? Does it sound like fun to you? People walk out on pretty people all the time. Do you know how much shit I’ve carried around, had in my life, for this."
Are you surprised at the disparity? Do you have any examples from your working life?
