Jennifer Lawrence publishes essay hitting out at gender pay inequality
The actress has challenged the difference in pay for men and women
Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence has written and released an essay titled 'Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars?' which has received support from a number of celebrities. The essay was published in the newsletter 'Lenny'.
The Hunger Games star started the essay by saying that she knew her problems weren't that relatable and wanted to highlight she was aware of how lucky she was. She then went on to discuss how it felt when she found out how much less she got paid than her co-stars during the Sony hack.
She said, "I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need."
She went on to say, "I didn’t want to seem “difficult” or “spoiled.” At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn’t worry about being “difficult” or “spoiled.”
Lawrence wrote about how she feels there are varying perceptions of men and women who ask for more money. "I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard," she said.
"Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper all fought and succeeded in negotiating powerful deals for themselves. If anything, I’m sure they were commended for being fierce and tactical, while I was busy worrying about coming across as a brat and not getting my fair share."
Since speaking out she has drawn praise from a number of Hollywood stars including Harry Potter actress Emma Watson who tweeted "O Jennifer Lawrence I love you so."
Hunger Games co-star Elizabeth Banks also tweeted her support.
Bradley Cooper, Mark Ruffalo and Jessica Chastain also came out and said they support the comments made by the actress.