While we've long known about Hollywood's dirty little practice of paying women less than their male contemporaries, discovering just how much less is still unnerving.
In a recent interview with Marie Claire U.K., Natalie Portman revealed something pretty startling. Portman and Ashton Kutcher starred in the 2011 rom-com No Strings Attached. It's pretty much your standard-issue romantic comedy. However, what's most surprising is the fact Portman earned three times less than her co-star, Kutcher. Yet during the time of pay negotiations, Portman wasn't very pressed.
"I wasn't as pissed as I should have been. I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy," she said, according to the Daily Mail.
The problem here is much bigger than Hollywood. Women are still grossly underpaid across the board in virtually all professions. And while yes, times are changing, it's still crazy to think we're still that fresh from an era when it was once okay for men to out-earn women by such a vast margin.
"'Compared to men, in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar. In Hollywood, we are making 30 cents to the dollar," Portman said.
These days, it sounds like Portman is much more vocal about not settling for less. And considering she's set to play one of the most badass women to wear a black robe, we'd say that's definitely the way to be.
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