The 'Molly's Game' star negotiated a salary for her co-star to receive the same pay as her on their upcoming film.
Jessica Chastain's latest power move may be her best one yet.
The Molly's Game star is working on a new comedy film with Octavia Spencer, and insisted that the two receive equal pay. In fact, she even negotiated a salary that was way higher than they could have imagined.
Spencer, who starred in The Help with Chastain, revealed what her co-star did for her during a Women Breaking Barriers panel at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Wednesday. Spencer explained that when she first found out about the movie, she explained to Chastain how in addition to women not receiving the same money as men, women of color make a significant less amount of money than white women in the entertainment industry.
"She was like, 'It's time that women get paid the same as men!' And I'm like, 'Yeah, Jessica! It’s time!,'" the 47-year-old actress shared. "And we were dropping F-bombs and getting it all out there."
That's when the conversation switched over to pay for women of color.
"I told her my story and we talked numbers and [Jessica] was quiet, and she had no idea that that's what it was like for women of color," Spencer recalled. "She said, 'Octavia, we're gonna get you paid on this film. .... You and I are gonna be tied together. We're gonna be favored nations, and we're gonna make the same thing.'"
Spencer continued to gush over Chastain, marveling over the fact that she's a woman of her word.
"Jessica Chastain believes," she explained. "I love that woman because she's walking the walk and she's actually talking the talk."
"Fast forward to last week, we're making five times what we asked for," she continued. "And now I want to go to what the men are making -- I wanna get there! But right now it feels really good just to be in that conversation."
Once word got out, many fans took to Twitter to praise Chastain for the empowering move. The red-headed beauty responded to one fan, who called the fight for Octavia "fantastic."
"[Octavia] had been underpaid for so long," Chastain explained. "When I discovered that, I realized that I could tie her deal to mine to bring up her quote. Men should start doing this with their female costars."
Spencer also chimed in, explaining that the salary she ended up with was actually five times more than what she originally thought she'd receive.
"I should clarify that I am making 5x my salary bc Jessica stood with me," she tweeted. "I don’t know what or if it cost her anything as far as her rate, I just know she stood with me, and am eternally grateful."
Hear more on how the women of Hollywood are fighting for equal pay and raising awareness for sexual misconduct in the video below.
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