Wage Gap Debate Brought Back by 'All the Money in the World'

The recent news that Mark Wahlberg received an additional $1.5 million for reshooting All the Money in the World, a sum which was not offered to his co-star, Michelle Williams, has sparked outrage. It is the latest example of gender inequality in Hollywood. According to USA Today, when Ridley Scott decided to reshoot the scenes in the $40 million thriller in order to cut out Kevin Spacey, who has recently been accused of multiple accounts of sexual assault and harassment, Wahlberg was paid an additional $1.5 million while Williams received just a per diem allowance of about $1,000 for the extra shooting days. This stark example of inequality comes at a time where Hollywood is undergoing a huge movement against gender inequality. The report appeared to represent an extreme case of a male actor being rewarded while his female costar was expected to work for less than one percent of his salary, writes The Hollywood Reporter. Many famous actresses are speaking out against the inequality, and urging people to see the movie in order to support Williams, who is an Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning actress.

Please go see Michelle’s performance in All The Money in The World. She’s a brilliant Oscar nominated Golden Globe winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 yrs. She deserves more than 1% of her male costar’ s salary. https://t.co/HIniew6lf7

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) January 10, 2018

Amber Tamblyn responded on Twitter, “Michelle Williams was paid 1% of what her male co-star made on her latest film. This is totally unacceptable.”

Judd Apatow also tweeted, “This is so messed up that it is almost hard to believe. Almost. This is how this business works. I wonder if the studio or Wahlberg will do something to make the situation less insane,” while actress Sophia Bush tweeted, “Exposing the gross disparity in pay & hard evidence of the gender gap — negotiated by the SAME agents no less! — isn’t a witch hunt. It’s a demand for fair practices.”

When the idea of a reshoot was raised, Williams told USA Today, “I said I’d be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort.”