The gender wage gap in Hollywood? Natalie Portman has something to say about it.
The Jackie star appears on the cover of Marie Claire U.K's February issue, inside revealing yet another startling incident in which a female actress earned far less than her male co-star. For her performance in 2011 rom-com No Strings Attached, Portman tells the mag that she earned three times less than Ashton Kutcher.
But according to the 35-year-old Oscar winner, Natalie wishes her reaction was less indifferent: "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 added, "I knew and I went along with it because there's this thing with 'quotes' in Hollywood."
These "quotes" Natalie recalled in the sit-down refers to the highest amount and actor has been made in a previous project, thus setting a bar for future films down the line. In her own words, "His was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more."
Now six years later, Portman isn't shy to stand up for herself. For example, when she signed on to play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in an upcoming biopic, Natalie insisted the director role would go to a woman.
"I don't think women and men are more or less capable, we just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities," she shared. "We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem."
Portman went on, "I feel energized to be an activist; that our art is more urgent than ever. It's more important to be as good a person as you can be in your community and to be really active in helping people who need more help now."
Pick up the latest issue of Marie Claire U.K. on newsstands now.