People are furious that the actress who plays Queen Elizabeth II on Netflix's 'The Crown' was paid less than her male co-star
- Producers on Netflix's "The Crown" said that Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip, made more money than Claire Foy, who played Queen Elizabeth II.
- People are not happy about this wage gap, considering Foy is clearly the lead.
The actor who played Prince Philip on "The Crown" made more money than the actress who played the show's main character, Queen Elizabeth II - and people are furious.
Many, both inside Hollywood and outside, have pointed out that Queen Elizabeth II is the main character: She wears the titular crown, and her performance is one of the show's highlights.
The discrepancy in pay came up during a Tuesday panel discussion about the Netflix drama at the INTV conference in Jerusalem. "The Crown" producers said Matt Smith was paid more than Claire Foy because he had become famous as the doctor on "Doctor Who."
"Going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen," producer Suzanne Mackie said.
Discussions about salaries for female stars are getting more common as women in Hollywood fight for equal pay to their male co-stars. Michelle Williams was reportedly paid less than $1,000 for re-shoots on "All the Money in the World," while her co-star Mark Wahlberg was paid over a million. After a media uproar, Wahlberg donated his salary for the reshoots to Time's Up.
In 2015, it was revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid significantly less than their male co-stars for "American Hustle," and Bradley Cooper said he would be open about his salary in the negotiation process.
But if "The Crown" is any indication, Hollywood still has work to do in gender pay disparity. And people aren't buying the excuses getting thrown around.
Here are some of the best reactions people had to the pay gap on "The Crown":