The English actress joked she'd earn more if she was 'Oliver Colman.'
Olivia Colman is getting candid about the long-protested gender pay disparity in Hollywood. During a recent appearance on CNN's The Amanpour Hour where she was discussing her latest film, Wicked Little Letters, the actress and producer opened up about the wage disparity that still effects the industry -- even for an Oscar-winner such as herself.
"Don't get me started on the pay disparity, but male actors get paid more because they used to say they drew in the audiences," The Crown star told host Christiane Amanpour. "And actually, that hasn't been true for decades, but they still like to use that as a reason to not pay women as much as their male counterparts."
When Amanpour asked if the Emmy winner has experienced pay disparity firsthand despite being an award-winning actress, Colman bluntly declared that her accolades -- which include an Oscar, two Emmys, and four BAFTAs -- do not make her the exception.
"I'm very aware that if I was Oliver Colman, I'd be earning a f**k of a lot more than I am," she said in response. "I know of one pay disparity, which is a 12,000 percent difference. Do the maths, I know."
Colman is one of the many stars speaking out about the discouraging pay gap that exists in the industry. In December 2023, Taraji P. Henson made headlines when she addressed the harsh reality of Hollywood's significant pay inequality for Black creatives.
In a conversation with Gayle King for SiriusXM radio while promoting her film, The Color Purple, with fellow guests Danielle Brooks and Blitz Bazawule, things became somber when Henson opened up about her frustrations over the industry's lack of fair pay, implying that the longstanding issues are determining factors in whether she gives up acting for good.
"I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost," she said. "I'm tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people say 'You work a lot!' I have to. The math ain't mathing. And when you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don't do this alone."
"I'm only human. Every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it's time to renegotiate, I'm at the bottom again like I never did what I just did, and I'm tired," Henson lamented. "I'm tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me? If I can't fight for them coming up behind me, then what the f**k am I doing?"
Breaking into frustrated tears, Henson noted that despite her various successes, she still gets told there isn't money on the table during negotiations because Black actors and stories "don't translate overseas," among other excuses. She stated that she's turned to various other projects, including her TPH haircare line, to supplement her acting income and diversify her brand.
"I'm tired hearing of that my entire career," Henson said. "Twenty-plus years in the game, and I hear the same thing, and I see what you do for another production, but when it's time to go to bat for us, they don't have any money. They play in your face. And I'm just supposed to smile and grin and bear it. Enough is enough! That's why I have other [brands] because this industry, if you let it, it will steal your soul. But I refuse to let that happen."
Bazawule, who directed The Color Purple, backed up her claims, sharing that he had to fight for all of his leading actors to be cast in the film despite their various successes. He said, "It was like you were never here," when he brought up their names to the studio.
"The fact that each one of you had to audition for this role... roles that were second nature for you... roles that no one should even question," Bazawule said.
Various stars spoke out in support of Henson's comments, including A Black Lady Sketch Show creator Robin Thede, who noted that Henson was "telling the absolute truth" in her post to X (formerly Twitter).
"This woman is OSCAR NOMINATED - imagine the struggle for 99% of the rest. Maybe folks won't relate but that's also the issue - being misunderstood and people just assuming they're 'rich.' So next time yall see an actor working at Trader Joe's, maybe it will hit different," Thede added.
Gabrielle Union added her voice to the conversation, writing, "Not a damn lie told. Not. A. Damn. Lie. We go TO BAT for the next generation and hell even our own generation and above. We don't hesitate to be the change that we all need to see AND it takes a toll on your mind, health, soul, and career if we're keepn it 💯 ❤️ u"
Oscar winner Viola Davis praised Henson for her courage, sharing a clip of the interview to her Instagram page. "This!!!! THIS!!! 👆🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿" she captioned the post, which drew the attention of several other famous faces.
Davis herself has spoken out about the unequal opportunities and compensation for Black artists in Hollywood. Davis called out the racial pay gap in a conversation with Tina Brown as part of the Women in the World salon in February 2018.
"We won't talk about gender inequality of pay. Because a lot of the women who've stepped forward -- and I stand in solidarity with them, okay -- what they are getting paid, which is half of what a man is getting paid...well, we get probably a tenth of what a Caucasian woman gets. And I'm number one on the call sheet. And then I go in, and I have to hustle for my worth," she said.
The Juilliard-trained actress pointed out that she is widely acclaimed across numerous mediums with decades of experience on film, television, and the stage.
"I got the Oscar, I got the Emmy, I got the two Tonys, I've done Broadway, I've done off-Broadway, I've done TV, I've done film, I've done all of it," she added. "I have a career that's probably comparable to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver. They all came out of Yale, they came out of Juilliard, they came out of NYU. They had the same path as me, and yet I am nowhere near them, not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities, nowhere close to it."
She continued: "But I have to get on that phone and people say, 'You're a Black Meryl Streep... There is no one like you.' OK,then, if there's no one like me, you think I'm that, you pay me what I'm worth. You give me what I'm worth."
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