From Meryl Streep to Lady Gaga in Joker II: the pay gap still exists in Hollywood

The salary gap in the Hollywood industry has existed since the beginning of celluloid. The prevailing machismo in society floods all work areas, and The salaries of the actresses continue in full 2022 lower than that of their peers professional.

A movie star like Meryl Streep has earned less than male actors throughout her career and does not hesitate to denounce him whenever he has occasion. Now it is Lady Gaga, who just a few days ago announced that she would be one of the protagonists of the second part of Joker, the one that is suffering an inequality of this type.

Lady Gaga’s ‘Joker 2’ Salary Is $10 Million Less Than Co-Star Joaquin Phoenix and that the director, Todd Phillips, has reopened the debate on the salary disparity in Hollywood.

There are many cases of wage inequality denounced by actresses. Gillian Anderson was offered only half David Duchovny’s salary for the new season of ‘X Files‘; Angelina Jolie earned half as much as Brad Pitt for ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’; and Natalie Portman, who starred alongside Ashton Kutcher in the film ‘Without obligation‘revealed that he charged three times as much for the film. “Ashton Kutcher received a salary three times higher than mine. I knew it and I did nothing (…) I was not angry enough“explained the Oscar winner.

The actress Jennifer Lawrence also warned about this situation in 2015 with an essay titled doWhy do I earn less than my male co-stars?“, which he published in the newsletter of the writer, screenwriter, director and actress Lena Dunham.

Amanda Seyfried revealed that although her status and that of a male co-star were equal, the compensation was not, stating in several interviews that her male co-star received up to 10% more than her in one of his big-budget feature films. “It’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is,” Amanda said then.

And not only does sexism stop there, Cate Blanchett also led a feminist march in Cannes, in which 81 women claimed a greater female presence in the cinema, including Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Marion Cotillard, Salma Hayek, or Patty Jenkins.

Although the actresses are coming together to speak out about this unfair situation in their industry, the change is very subtle. “I have participated in films in which I discovered that my male co-star was paid twice as much as meand it is simply a reality of the times in which we live”, also denounced the actress RooneyMara.

In the movie ‘All the Money in the World’ (2017), actress Michelle Williams was on screen for almost the same time as her ‘co-star’ Mark Wahlberg, but their salaries did not reflect it.

“It is time to achieve equality. Girls need to know that there is nothing wrong with being a feminist; on the contrary. It is an attitude that does not entail hating men. It means equal rights. If the work is identical, the pay should be too,” said South African actress Charlize Theron.