Natalie Portman has admitted that she was ‘p***ed’ after finding out that Ashton Kutcher was paid three times as much as her for making the same movie.
To be fair, you would be very annoyed if you discovered that someone was making loads more money than you for doing the same work, wouldn’t you?
Yet, as simple as that equation sounds, this is the reality for many women across many different jobs.
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Simply put, they’re right to be p***ed off, and it’s all of our jobs to try to call out this sort of disparity where we see it.
Anyway, the film in question was 2011’s No Strings Attached, a romantic comedy that saw Portman and Kutcher in the lead roles playing a pair of friends who embark on a ‘no strings attached’ sexual relationship without falling in love with each other.
You’ll never guess what happens next…
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Still, we’re not here to pick over whether the movie was actually any good or not, we’re here to talk about why Portman got paid less than Kutcher, despite receiving equal billing.
Portman has opened up about this in the past, telling Marie Claire: “We get paid a lot, so it’s hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy.”
Whilst she admitted that she knew about the wage difference at the time, the Black Swan actor also said that she perhaps wasn’t as annoyed about it as she should or could have been.
“I knew, and I went along with it because there’s this thing with quotes in Hollywood,” she said.
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“His [quote] was three times higher than mine, so they said he should get three times more.
“I wasn’t as p***ed as I should have been.”
On a more general note, she said: “I don’t think women and men are more or less capable.
“We just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities.”
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Portman went on to say that women need to speak up about this pay disparity, but it also takes everyone to start doing it.
Obviously, Kutcher isn’t responsible for the pay disparity, even if – on this occasion – he was the beneficiary of the higher wage.
He’s also thrown his support behind Portman, as well as commending her for speaking up about the issue.
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On Twitter, he said: “So proud of Natalie and all women who stand up for closing the gender pay gap!”
The star also shared a link to the interview Portman gave, further amplifying the message.
It’s strange to think that this sort of thing still goes on in 2023, and goes on in professions that aren’t as well remunerated as Hollywood motion picture making.
That means that it’s up to all of us to speak out against it, until it’s no longer the done thing to pay women less than men.
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Money, Ashton Kutcher
Tom Wood