Remember When Emma Stone Took a Stand Against Hollywood’s Gender Pay Gap? (Photo Credit – Facebook)
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Remember when Emma Stone threw the gauntlet on Hollywood’s gender pay gap? Yep, she did! In a chat with tennis legend Billie Jean King for Out Magazine, Stone alluded to how her male co-stars helped her level the playing field. “I’ve needed my male co-stars to take a pay cut so that I may have parity with them,” she asserted.
For Stone, it was more about respect. She added, “If my male co-star believes we are equal and takes a pay cut, that changes my quote in the future.” While she kept names under wraps, her words echoed throughout Hollywood as she promoted The Battle of the Sexes, a flick about King’s iconic match against Bobby Riggs. “It’s a story that resonates today,” she emphasized.
Diving deeper, Stone and King tackled the broader implications of the gender pay gap. “Women, in general, are making four-fifths at best,” Stone pointed out. King chimed in with a reality check: “White women. If you’re African-American or Hispanic, it goes down, and then Asian-Americans make 90 cents to the dollar.” Ouch! Those stats hit hard!
In 2016, women’s median weekly earnings were only 81.9 percent of men’s—yikes! For Hispanic women, that dropped to 57.2 percent compared to white men, while black women lagged at 62.5 percent. Talk about a wake-up call!
Hollywood’s pay chaos is unique, with Stone noting that role size, box office performance, and genre complicate salary comparisons. But let’s get real! A 2014 study showed that while female stars’ average earnings peaked at 34, male stars kept raking in the dough until they hit 51. Stability, much?
Stone wasn’t alone in this fight. Jennifer Lawrence stirred the pot in 2015 when it was revealed she was paid less than Bradley Cooper in American Hustle, and Amy Adams, who starred alongside them, also weighed in on the pay disparity.
Then there’s the hot take that women need to negotiate harder—a concept pushed by Sheryl Sandberg in her book Lean In. But let’s be honest: that advice often misses the mark and doesn’t tackle the systemic issues. Not everyone can negotiate their way to equal pay!
As the conversation about gender pay inequality heats up, Emma Stone’s bold words spotlight the ongoing battle for fairness in Hollywood and beyond. Here’s hoping her voice—and the voices of many others—continue to make waves and bring about real change. The world is watching, and we’re all here for it!
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