Actor Mark Wahlberg is doing the unfathomable. He's addressing two major issues impacting women globally: sexual harassment and the pay gap. Days after it was reported that his All The Money In The World costar, Michelle Williams, was paid peanuts ($1000) in comparison to his salary ($1.5 million) to reshoot scenes, he’s decided to make a large charitable gesture.
The star pledged to donate $1.5 million (£1.1 million) to the #TimesUp legal fund in Williams' name, according to Deadline.
In a statement, Wahlberg said, “Over the last few days my reshoot fee for ‘All The Money in the World’ has become an important topic of conversation. I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the $1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”
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After news of sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey surfaced last year, director Ridley Scott made the unprecedented decision: to expunge Spacey from his latest film, All The Money In The World, and recast him ASAP.
At the time, Scott’s decision to reshoot the scenes with the film’s stars was well-received. Though, after news of Williams’ meagre payout in comparison with Wahlberg made headlines earlier this week, fans were incensed. Scott’s decision to recast Spacey was somewhat undermined by another major issue plaguing Hollywood: the pay gap.
In light of #MeToo, #TimesUp, and other issues impacting women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community working in Hollywood, many have noticed that Hollywood's male populous has been overwhelmingly mum.
While Wahlberg’s donation is a step in the right direction, how wonderful it would’ve been had the two stars been paid equally and Wahlberg donated to #TimesUp in his own name, simply because it was the right thing to do.
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