A-list actress Scarlett Johansson — who has an estimated net worth of $165 million and topped the Forbes list of highest-paid actresses in 2019 — complained that women are underpaid in Hollywood, and that she is “still fighting that damn fight” to get paid what she is worth.
“As a woman, you have to be [your own ally] all the time, because we are underminded[sic], and underserved, and under-appreciated, and underpaid — you have to be your own ally,” Johansson said in a recent interview with Glamour Magazine.
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The Black Widow star went on to say that her mother “instilled that in me from when I was really, really young, because of course she experienced it even more severely than I did, and equal pay is a huge part of that fight.”
“Even when I was a teenager in the industry or a young woman, I should say, my mom would have those conversations, like, ‘Why is she not getting (paid the same)?'” the actress added.
One reason for a pay variation between male and female actors, however, could be explained by male-led films outperforming their female-led counterparts at the box office — a concept that Scarlett Johansson disregarded, and instead, blamed on “sexism.” It echos her criticism of Marvel Studios, suggesting last month that the Disney-owned studio was sexist in the way it portrayed her character, Natasha Romanoff, in the 2010 film Iron Man 2, stating that the fictional character was treated “like a piece of ass.”
“There was always these, like, these little key terms, like, ‘bankability,’ and ‘box office draw,’ and those are all terms that are basically masquerading as sexism,” she told Glamour.
“It never had anything to do with those things,” Johansson insisted. “And if there ever was, it was also part of the systemic issue that a woman could not be as bankable or have a box office draw. ”
The actress then reiterated that her mom “refused that, and instilled in me, ‘No, you have to fight that. You’re desirable because of your work, and that’s where your value is. It’s in your talent, and it has nothing to do with your gender, and don’t let anybody make you feel that way.'”
Johansson concluded by claiming that she is still in a “constant fight” to get paid what she is worth.
“It’s a constant fight,” she said. “I’m still fighting that damn fight. We all are.”
In March, Scarlett Johansson said Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory “felt like the end of a war” and brought her to tears.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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