Cate Blanchett has said Hollywood is still “nowhere near equal pay” despite the #MeToo movement.
The actor, known for her Oscar-winning roles in Blue Jasmine and The Aviator, has reflected on how the industry has changed post-MeToo.
Blanchett, who is currently on stage in London in The Barbican’s production of The Seagull, was one of many Hollywood stars who reported being sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein when allegations emerged against the now-disgraced producer in 2017 as the #MeToo movement was taking hold.
In a new interview with The Observer, the 53-year-old was asked “What happened with #MeToo?”
“Well, the conversation had just begun and suddenly everything was being discredited and undermined, so we’re still having to fight for those same basic conversations,” she said, agreeing with the interviewer that it can seem like the industry has gone “backwards”.
Speaking specifically about equal-pay discussions, which were a prominent part of the movement, Blanchett replied: “We’re nowhere near equal pay!”
The actor said that despite the many conversations surrounding equal pay, it has not come to fruition in the industry.
“Talking about it noisily doesn’t mean action has happened,” she said, adding: “I mean, there’s a greater concentration of wealth than perhaps there ever has been in human history. And we can see where that’s got us.”
Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Sienna Miller, Taraji P Henson, Natalie Portman, and Octavia Spencer are among the many actors to have advocated for equal pay at the time.
Famously, Michelle Williams was paid only $1,000 to reshoot her key scenes in the film All The Money In The World, while her male co-star Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5m.
“No one cared,” Williams said, in a 2019 speech delivered on Equal Pay Day at Capitol Hill. “This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home.”
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Fans of Netflix’s hit series The Crown were shocked to learn that Claire Foy – who played the Queen, and fronted the series – was being paid less than co-star Matt Smith.
She later told The Telegraph: “It definitely opened my eyes to a lot. And I certainly won’t be naive about those things.”
Last month, Blanchett questioned the lasting effects of #MeToo. “Everyone talks about the #MeToo movement as if it’s well and truly over, and I think well, it didn’t really ever take root, to be honest,” Blanchett said.
Speaking to The Guardian, she added that it is the responsibility of those in “public-facing industries” to continue the conversation.
“When you talk about equity and inclusion, that means the people who’ve had all the toys need to share. They’ve got used to that being normal. And so you have to be very vocal in order to rebalance it,” she said.
When Blanchett was asked in a 2018 interview with Variety whether Weinstein ever sexually harassed her or behaved inappropriately towards her, she replied: “With me, yes.”
The actor explained: “I think he really primarily preyed, like most predators, on the vulnerable. I mean I got a bad feeling from him…. He would often say to me, ‘We’re not friends’.”
