Chris Rock, Jennifer Lawrence amp; More Celebs on the Wage Gap

Chris Rock, Jennifer Lawrence amp; More Celebs on the Wage Gap The gender wage gap has become a hot topic in Hollywood over the past two years. In case you missed it, here’s what all the celebrities have been saying leading up to the 88th annual Academy Awards. Patricia Arquette: “To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” Arquette said during her Oscars acceptance speech in 2015. “It’s high time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” Cate Blanchett: “It just feels like the industry has the same conversation every year, and I think that’s a fabulous conversation,” Blanchett told GQ. “We’ll be back here like Groundhog Day next year having the same f***ing symposium. It just has to shift.” Sandra Bullock: “It’s a bigger issue than money. I know we’re focused on the money part right now. That’s just a byproduct. I keep saying, ‘Why is it that no one is standing up and saying you can’t say that about a woman?’ We’re mocked and judged in the media and articles,” Bullock told Variety. Jessica Chastain: “There’s no reason why [Jennifer Lawrence] should be doing a film with other actors and get paid less than her male co-stars. It’s completely unfair. It’s not right. It’s been happening for years and years and years. I think it’s brave to talk about it. I think everyone should talk about it,” Chastain told Variety. Bradley Cooper: “There’s a double standard in the whole world, yeah, for sure. This is just one aspect,” Cooper said in a press event for Burnt. Judy Greer: “In the past few months, I’ve become convinced of one thing: If I were a man, I’d be paid more. I realize that some people may not sympathize with an actress who gets to be in movies and on TV for a living. But if you take away names and vocations, the fact is that in 2015 a man is still getting paid more money to do the same job a woman does, in Hollywood and everywhere else. And no matter where you live or what you do, that’s bullsh-t,” Greer wrote in an essay for Glamour (the whole thing is worth reading). Read Next: Why You Should Care About the Hollywood Wage Gap Jennifer Lawrence: “When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. 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,” Lawrence wrote. “I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’” Rooney Mara: “I’ve been in films where I’ve found out my male co-star got paid double what I got paid, and it’s just a reality of the time that we live in,” the Oscar-nominated Mara told The Guardian. “To me, it’s frustrating, but at the same time, I’m just grateful to be getting paid at all for what I do. “It’s not fair, but I think about how much teachers are getting paid, or other people who are doing jobs that are so much more important than what I do, and it’s kind of hard to complain about it.” Sienna Miller: “I don’t think it’s diva-ish to expect if you’re doing the same job as someone to be paid the same thing,” Miller said during a press event for Burnt. “I understand the different value of people commercially, but what it means if you do start to fight back is that you will not get that job. And if you love that job and you’re passionate about it, that’s a really hard thing to relinquish. “But it’s going to take sacrifice, it is … It’s not about the money, it’s the principle.” Carey Mulligan: “I think it’s a good thing for someone like Jennifer to speak out; it means an awful lot to women. Sure, there’s been cynicism toward her speaking out and the fact that she makes a lot of money, but she is completely and selflessly rising above that. [The discrepancy] is inherently unfair and she has an enormous platform to speak out against it. Men in Hollywood look up to her because she is powerful. She’s using that platform to correct something that isn’t right. It’s a long overdue conversation and it’s admirable what she has done. This is an age-old issue that’s in every part of society,” Mulligan told Deadline. Jeremy Renner: “That’s not my job,” Renner told Business Insider. “I don’t know contracts and money and all that sort of stuff.” Chris Rock: “Black women have the hardest gig in show business,” Rock told The New Yorker in a profile of comedian Leslie Jones. “You hear Jennifer Lawrence complaining about getting paid less because she’s a womanâ€"if she was black, she’d really have something to complain about.” Amanda Seyfried: “A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10 percent of what my male costar was getting, and we were pretty even in status. I think people think because I’m easygoing and game to do things, I’ll just take as little as they offer. But it’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is,” Seyfried told The Sunday Times. Kate Winslet: “I’m having such a problem with these conversations,” Winslet told the BBC. “I understand why they are coming up but maybe it’s a British thing. I don’t like talking about money; it’s a bit vulgar isn’t it?”