Jennifer Lawrence has been very expressive about equal pay in Hollywood, and she is not afraid to call out companies or even fellow actors. Starring alongside A-listers is an honor, but if she gets paid less than her male co-stars for doing the same amount of work, that’s already an issue.
The actress did not hold back when she penned an open letter after discovering through the Sony leak that she was paid less than Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper, and Christian Bale in 2013’s American Hustle.
Sony Leak Revealed Jennifer Lawrence Received Lower Pay Than Male Co-Stars
Jennifer Lawrence wrote a short essay in Lena Dunham’s newsletter via The Atlantic addressing the gender pay gap in Hollywood and how she was only paid 7% in American Hustle while the male lead actors equally received 9%.
“When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d**ks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need.”
Lawrence is known for her sunny disposition and she tries to avoid controversies as much as possible, but she admitted that this part of her personality is what failed her. The actress regrets not fighting enough.
“But if I’m honest with myself, I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’ At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn’t worry about being ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’ ”
This has been the dilemma of many women in workplaces around the world, and Lawrence is just one of the several actresses fighting against pay disparity and gender discrimination in Hollywood.
Jeremy Renner Dodged Topic On Women’s Equal Pay
Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper, who also starred in American Hustle, commended Jennifer Lawrence for speaking up and shared that he has been doing his part to help female co-stars negotiate their salaries. He told Reuters:
“I don’t know where it’s changing otherwise, but that’s something that I could do. Usually you don’t talk about the financial stuff, you have people. But you know what? It’s time to start doing that.”
On the other hand, Jeremy Renner got the flak for distancing himself and evading the topic of salary inequality, claiming it’s not his job to help women get equal pay (via Business Insider):
“That’s not my job. I don’t know contracts and money and all that sort of stuff. I’m a performer and I know human behavior. When it comes to that sort of stuff I let other people deal with that.”
The Hawkeye star later clarified that he supports women and that gender should not influence the salary of a person.
