Netflix is being pretty bold when they admit the fact that Claire Foy is being paid less for The Crown than Matt Smith. This kind of disparity makes no sense at all since Foy has become the undisputed start of the show and Smith has fallen into the background, where he began as far as the show was concerned. In the first season it might have been justifiable by some measure but now it’s simply unacceptable. This kind of disparity between men and women is one of the biggest problems to date in Hollywood and worldwide in fact. If women are able to do the same job as men and to the same extent if not greater then they deserve the same rate of pay. Should they have less star power than a male figure or not be as expert in their delivery then merit should determine the rate of pay, not their gender.
The way things should be is usually not the way they are however and unfortunately those cutting the checks are also those that tend to think that things are just fine the way they are. Maybe it’s time to shake up management a bit and make things truly equal instead of more equal for one side or the other. Make no mistake about it, there are those out there that believe that women should take full advantage of men as has happened to them for so long, and they do have a point. The only problem with that is such an act would be supporting the kind of system that has for a long time now kept women down on the pay scale by allowing them switch sides and be the ones on top of the pay scale while men languish beneath. It’s a tit-for-tat kind of moment that wouldn’t solve the problem, but would instead make it worse.
The idea is to make things equal for everyone, and barring that, to make sure that those who are garnering more attention for their roles in Hollywood and thus keeping audience interested should be looked at as worth the money when it comes to paying out. Men or women, it doesn’t matter when it comes to who’s the most prominent and popular character in a show or movie. If they bring in the ratings and the audience then they need to be paid their fair amount. Honestly it seems like actors of either gender are paid too much already for what they do, but since that doesn’t seem likely to change then the pay scale between men and women needs to be balanced out and finally brought to a level playing field. Getting paid more just for being male is not a good enough reason to overshadow the star of a series when it comes to the pay scale. Claire Foy is the undeniable star of The Crown, and as a result she is the one that is responsible for carrying a great deal of the show.
So pay the woman already.
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