Pro-choice actress Jessica Chastain made a charitable contribution to one of her pro-life Instagram followers on Thursday after the two had a brief debate about abortion.
The 40-year-old Miss Sloane star posted a photo of herself wearing a t-shirt reading, “We Should All Be Feminists” to her Instagram page Thursday to mark International Women’s Day.
The actress captioned the post: “FEMINISM: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.”
One of Chastain’s followers, going by the username karinhschulz, responded to the post by suggesting she views feminism differently than the actress.
“Yes feminist that believe in God and stand up for The Unborn. I would be for that kind of feminist,” Schulz wrote.
In a direct response to Schulz, the actress reiterated her own pro-choice position but said she respected Schulz’s pro-life beliefs. Chastain also noted that she’d read Schulz’s Instagram bio, which contains a link to a fundraiser for fertility treatments. According to the page, Schulz and her husband have had trouble conceiving.
“Yes you can decide what is right for you. I am pro-choice and I believe that everyone has the right to make their own decision,” Chastain wrote to her follower. “I read about your journey to become a mother and it broke my heart. I hope that your dream will come true in 2018! Much love to you.”
“My eyes filled with tears as I read this, dear Karin,” she added in another post. “I have such belief in your dream. Don’t give up my sister. It’s in your destiny.”
GoFundMe
After Chastain made her posts, Schulz’s fundraising page recorded a $2,000 donation from the actress, representing nearly half of the fundraiser’s $5,000 goal.
“Dear Jessica. Thank you for your words, for your encouragement and loving wishes. I too am a feminist!!” Schulz wrote in reply. “It is ok if we don’t see eye to eye on everything. We do agree on more than we disagree!! You are my sister, and together wonderful change and more awesome things will happen in this beautiful world we live in. Love Always Karin.”
View the full exchange on Chastain’s Instagram post here.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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