It’s no secret that in America, women are paid less than their male counterparts. Men make more money than women in all different industries including sports and Hollywood. While it is unfair that women do not get paid as much as men for doing the same type of work, the difference in pay can be staggering when we’re talking about salaries in the millions of dollars range.
Actor Jennnifer Lawrence is coming forward as the latest famous woman to talk about pay disparities between men and women. In a shocking statement, Lawrence told America that she was paid at least $5 million less than her fellow star Leonardo DiCaprio for the acting work they did in the movie “Don’t Look Up.” While DiCaprio was handed a massive paycheck, Lawrence received a pittance compared to the male Oscar winner.
Lawrence has a history of being paid much less than her male counterparts. After Sony Pictures was hacked in 2014, it was revealed that she was paid a lot less money than the men who worked on American Hustle with her. Although she played a prominent role in American Hustle, she was given much less money than the men who worked on the same movie.
Although actors are often overpaid compared to other workers in America, the pay gap is still very large. Male actors do not necessarily deserve more money for the same type of work women do, which means that Hollywood has to work harder at closing the gender pay gap to help protect women and promote equality in the workplace.
In addition to learning that she was paid a paltry sum compared to her co-star in Don’t Look Up, Jennifer Lawrence also suffered a personal tragedy while filming the movie. She has come forward publicly to say that she suffered a miscarriage while working on Don’t Look Up and lost a baby that she was hoping to bring into the world.
Another woman who is bringing attention to the Hollywood pay gap is actor Bryce Dallas. She worked alongside actor Chris Pratt in the Jurassic World sequels and was paid “so much less” than the male actor.
According to Rare.us: “The actors co-starred in the recent trilogy: 2015’s Jurassic World, 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion. Variety said in 2018 that Bryce Dallas Howard only earned $8 million for Fallen Kingdom versus Pratt’s $10 million.”
However, Dallas told Insider that the pay gap was actually worse than that announcement, although she did not provide specific amounts of pay. She did describe how Hollywood’s push to pay men more is disconcerting for female actors who are working just as hard as their male counterparts in these films.
“The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less,” Howard said. “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.”