In late April, both Claire Foy and Matt Smith — as former co-stars of The Crown‘s first two season on Netflix — found themselves in the midst of a gender pay gap controversy. This occurred after producers admitted that Smith received a higher paycheck than Foy, even though she was the lead character (Queen Elizabeth II) in a female-driven show. Foy wasn’t shocked, and it was clear that neither she nor Smith wanted to be in the middle of this scuffle. Yet all has worked out well for her in the end, for producers have announced that Foy’s receiving a pretty sweet amount of back pay.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, a Left Bank Pictures spokesperson said that Foy will receive a $275,000 check, and the production company wants everyone to know that none of this is the fault of Smith or Foy:
“As the producers of The Crown we are responsible for budgets and salaries. The actors are not aware of who gets what and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues. We are absolutely united with the fight for fair pay, free of gender bias and for a rebalancing of the industry’s treatment of women in front of the camera and behind the scenes.”
Left Bank Creative Director Suzanne Mackie had already pledged that this discrepancy would not happen (“going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen”) for the show’s next two seasons, in which Olivia Colman will play the Queen, and the Prince Phillip role hasn’t yet been cast. Such a public display was never anything that The Crown stars asked for, but after the All The Money In The World stars saw an even more massive pay gap between Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams, perhaps such publicity will finally work gender pay justice in the future.
(Via Daily Mail)
