The only thing more exciting to me than the revival of David Lynch’s cult-classic Twin Peaks is when I hear about women making a statement about social injustices and the unfairness in Hollywood. So, when I heard that Amanda Seyfried, who just had a baby with hubby Thomas Sadoski, stuck it to the patriarchy while walking the red carpet at the Twin Peaks premiere over the weekend, well, I got more excited than Agent Dale Cooper gets over a piece of pie.
At a first glance, you might not even see Seyfried’s subtle-yet-bold call to action; but, look closely, and you’ll see the word “Equality” stitched into the see-through fabric that falls right at her knee of her Versace dress.
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Marie Claire pointed out that this isn’t the first time the actress, who will play Becky in the series’ reboot, has defended equal rights, citing a 2015 interview with the UK’s Sunday Times.
“A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10 percent of what my male co-star was getting, and we were pretty even in status” Seyfried told the Sunday Times. “I think people think that just because Im’ easy-going and game to do things, I’ll just take as little as they offer…It’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is.”
"Twin Peaks, equality and diamonds for everyone," Seyfried captioned her Instagram photo.
Seyfried is just one of the many women in Hollywood who are speaking out against the pay disparity in the film and television industries. Robin Wright, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, and Natalie Portman are just a few of the other actresses who are demanding to be paid as well as men in the business.
But, pay inequality isn’t just an issue in Hollywood. All across the nation, women are paid less than men, with white women getting paid approximately 80 percent of what a man receives, and women of color receiving even less.
In a recent study published by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Julie Anderson, M.A., Jessica Milli, Ph.D., and Melanie Kruvelis found that “if the earnings of women and men who are employed full-time, year-round change at the rate they have between 1959 and 2015, the gender wage gap in the United States will not close until 2059.”
The study also projects which states will close the wage gap the quickest, with Wyoming coming in last at year 2153 and Florida coming in first at year 2038. California is projected to close its wage gap in 2043.
If we have anything to say about it, we’ll get results nationwide much sooner.