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Guy Explains Why Equal Pay For Male And Female Actors Doesn’t Make Sense
You may or may not be aware that there is, at this point, a petition with over 25,000 signatures on it calling for ‘The Crown’ actor Matt Smith to give up part of his salary, and donate it to the legal defense fund for the Time’s Up Movement.
This came after revelations by the show’s producers that Smith, renowned actor and former ‘Doctor Who’ star, earned more while working as a support actor on ‘The Crown’ than lead actress Claire Foy, who played the Queen.
With the gender pay gap being a hotly debated issue at present, the petition, which originated from the Care2 organization, has already an effect. “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” producer Suzanne Mackie has said about the issue, while explaining that Smith was previously paid more due to his previous ‘Doctor Who’ fame.
It is right at this point that Imgur user YurgenGrimwood steps in with a simple and clear argument. According to this argument, Smith’s heftier paycheck doesn’t come down to sexism at all, but is rather just the realities of show business economics. He is more recognizable and therefore creates more value to the show than the highly talented, but previously unknown Claire Foy.
So while the gender pay gap is certainly a pertinent issue in the overall fight for gender equality, YurgenGrimwood believes that this particular petition may have missed the target. What do you think? Should lead actors always be paid more, regardless of previous fame? Should Matt Smith donate the difference in his salary to the Time’s Up movement? Let us know in the comments below!
RELATED:
This petition began after it was revealed that co-star of ‘The Crown’ Matt Smith was paid more for his role than lead actress Claire Foy
Image credits: Robert Viglasky/AP
This guy, however, disagreed with the petition and decided to explain his opinion
Many people seemed to agree with this perspective
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
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What do you think ?
Cactuar Jon 7 years ago
I have to agree. When there are both men and women doing the exact same job, but there is a difference in pay - THAT is where the problem is. The issue above is similar to if someone who's got 10+ years experience in their field with evidence of high performance and another who has 4yrs experience in the same field with very little evidence of high performance. The latter is obviously going to get paid less. Gender here doesn't even come into it. People need to stop being so ready to jump on every tiny little thing and turning it into a problem!
Jeremy Rankin 7 years ago
You pay your dues like any industry. He’s a marquis actor and she is not (yet). I’m sure Winston Churchill and her father in season 1 didn’t make nearly what Matt Smith made.
Load More Replies...
Alextrónica 7 years ago
Let's thing on oposite version. I want to make mate a show starring Jennifer Lawrence and some John Doe. Of course, I am going to pay more money to Lawrence than to the other guy.
Oscar Goytia 7 years ago
That's what happened in passengers... Jennifer Lawrence was paid a lot more than Chris Pratt... he became world famous thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World Bad luck for him... but at the moment she was a bigger star
Load More Replies...
Jade Lynn 7 years ago
I thought the more famous you were the more you got paid... isn't that the point in becoming famous ?
Mika N 7 years ago
Well the headline of this article is rather misleading. He is not arguing that "paying men and women actors the same doesn't make sense." He's arguing that gender has nothing to do with it in this case, they pay based on popularity of the actor. Which I think he's right about, yeah that's how it works. Now if a very famous woman actor got paid less than an equally or less famous male actor there'd be something to get upset about. I don't know enough about the movie industry to know whether that happens or not.
stellermatt 7 years ago
so how does the wage thing work in movies? once you're on a certain 'level' you can command a certain pay per film, I'm assuming that's based on past performances and the draw of that individual star yeah? so is Matt Smith a bigger name/draw/earner than Clair Foy? if so, then that seems fair no? having said this I know for some movies, certain 'stars' go unpaid so that the movie can stay within budget. Had Matt Smith been in this alongside, say, Julia Roberts, I would imagine her fee would have been huge? so I guess it's all relative yeah?
Oscar Goytia 7 years ago
that's what Jonah Hill did for The Wolf of Wall Street... he loved the role so much that he took a lot less money for it.
Load More Replies...
Alia Ris 7 years ago
forcing people to donate.. that sounds even sillier every second I type it. I kinda agree with YurgenGrimwood over there, it's about bigger name. Sure it's not fair, sort of..but isn't that's how entertainment business works? And even truer about the sexism, why not blame the employer (or the entire industry)?
Bella Smith 7 years ago
I don't know how I feel about this both arguments seem pretty solid. I am a female and full-out feminist however sometimes I think (I know for sure their is a gender pay gap etc) but sometimes people just create problems almost on person I mean if for example this was reverse away around and the girl was getting more pay for being a minor actor it would not have been as bigger deal.
Hans 7 years ago
How salaries are composed in society is extremely complex. However, wherever inequalities or even unfairness exists, it typically are not the receivers who are to blame. It are the payees, the political systems, or probably society as a whole. If in doubt look at the Scandinavian countries. No one would be blamed for trying to get a raise, but wages are distributed much mor equally than elsewhere. This not only minimizes pay gaps but also means that a manager will earn threefold or twofold compared to a bus driver, but not 50 or so fold...
Load More Replies...
Cactuar Jon 7 years ago
I have to agree. When there are both men and women doing the exact same job, but there is a difference in pay - THAT is where the problem is. The issue above is similar to if someone who's got 10+ years experience in their field with evidence of high performance and another who has 4yrs experience in the same field with very little evidence of high performance. The latter is obviously going to get paid less. Gender here doesn't even come into it. People need to stop being so ready to jump on every tiny little thing and turning it into a problem!
Jeremy Rankin 7 years ago
You pay your dues like any industry. He’s a marquis actor and she is not (yet). I’m sure Winston Churchill and her father in season 1 didn’t make nearly what Matt Smith made.
Load More Replies... Alextrónica 7 years ago
Let's thing on oposite version. I want to make mate a show starring Jennifer Lawrence and some John Doe. Of course, I am going to pay more money to Lawrence than to the other guy.
Oscar Goytia 7 years ago
That's what happened in passengers... Jennifer Lawrence was paid a lot more than Chris Pratt... he became world famous thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World Bad luck for him... but at the moment she was a bigger star
Load More Replies... Jade Lynn 7 years ago
I thought the more famous you were the more you got paid... isn't that the point in becoming famous ?
Mika N 7 years ago
Well the headline of this article is rather misleading. He is not arguing that "paying men and women actors the same doesn't make sense." He's arguing that gender has nothing to do with it in this case, they pay based on popularity of the actor. Which I think he's right about, yeah that's how it works. Now if a very famous woman actor got paid less than an equally or less famous male actor there'd be something to get upset about. I don't know enough about the movie industry to know whether that happens or not.
stellermatt 7 years ago
so how does the wage thing work in movies? once you're on a certain 'level' you can command a certain pay per film, I'm assuming that's based on past performances and the draw of that individual star yeah? so is Matt Smith a bigger name/draw/earner than Clair Foy? if so, then that seems fair no? having said this I know for some movies, certain 'stars' go unpaid so that the movie can stay within budget. Had Matt Smith been in this alongside, say, Julia Roberts, I would imagine her fee would have been huge? so I guess it's all relative yeah?
Oscar Goytia 7 years ago
that's what Jonah Hill did for The Wolf of Wall Street... he loved the role so much that he took a lot less money for it.
Load More Replies... Alia Ris 7 years ago
forcing people to donate.. that sounds even sillier every second I type it. I kinda agree with YurgenGrimwood over there, it's about bigger name. Sure it's not fair, sort of..but isn't that's how entertainment business works? And even truer about the sexism, why not blame the employer (or the entire industry)?
Bella Smith 7 years ago
I don't know how I feel about this both arguments seem pretty solid. I am a female and full-out feminist however sometimes I think (I know for sure their is a gender pay gap etc) but sometimes people just create problems almost on person I mean if for example this was reverse away around and the girl was getting more pay for being a minor actor it would not have been as bigger deal.
Hans 7 years ago
How salaries are composed in society is extremely complex. However, wherever inequalities or even unfairness exists, it typically are not the receivers who are to blame. It are the payees, the political systems, or probably society as a whole. If in doubt look at the Scandinavian countries. No one would be blamed for trying to get a raise, but wages are distributed much mor equally than elsewhere. This not only minimizes pay gaps but also means that a manager will earn threefold or twofold compared to a bus driver, but not 50 or so fold...
Load More Replies...
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