Michelle Williams has revealed how she felt when she found out that she was paid less than one percent of what her male co-star got for reshooting scenes for “All the Money in the World”.
The actress said she was “paralyzed in feelings of futility” when she first found out that co-star Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million whereas she was only paid $1,000.
Both Williams and Wahlberg were asked to reshoot their scenes in Ridley Scott’s movie after Kevin Spacey, accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men, was replaced by Christopher Plummer.
Williams said on Tuesday, April 2, 2019:
In late 2017, the news broke that I’d been paid less than $1,000 compared to the $1.5 million that my male counterpart had received for the exact same amount of work. And guess what? No one cared.
Advocating for the Paycheck Fairness Act while speaking on Capitol Hill, Williams said the disparity came as no surprise to her.
It simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home. I’ve been accredited by my industry at the highest levels and that still didn’t translate to equal and fair compensation.
On Tuesday, Williams joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus to celebrate Equal Pay Day. She said that eventually the pay gap was widely condemned, thanks in part to fellow actress Jessica Chastain, who made note of it on Twitter.
Williams said:
Jessica’s audience was much wider than mine and she wasn’t afraid to pick up a megaphone and be heard. And heard she was; there was an uproar and a public shaming within my industry that resulted in a $2 million donation to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.
Wahlberg donated the money he received for the reshoots in Williams’ name to #TimesUp, the legal defense fund founded in response to the #MeToo movement.
Williams added she has noticed a change in the industry since.
“On the job I just completed two weeks ago, let me tell you something: I was paid equally with my male co-star,” she added.
Watch the video below.