It’s the gender wage gap war that won’t go away. Earlier this year, when reports circulated that The Crown star Claire Foy had been paid a significantly smaller fee than her co-star Matt Smith, the producer of the Netflix hit drama seemingly rectified the issue. “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” said Suzanne Mackie, who apologetically confirmed that Smith, who played Prince Philip, had received a bigger wage.
Yet it turns out that despite reports Foy would be back paid around $260,000 for her commanding role as Queen Elizabeth II, the actress has not received any funds.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Foy confirmed she had never been compensated for the discrepancy, suggesting the topic had been misreported. “That was what was reported that I was back-paid. I’ve never mentioned anything about it and neither have the producers. The fact that that is ‘fact’ is—not quite correct,” she said.
“Yes, it’s Netflix, but it’s a British production company. It happened at the same time as it was coming out with a lot of other people that there was a lot of pay inequality across the board — in the music industry, in journalism, in every industry.”
Foy has previously discussed that being at the centre of the conversation about the pay gap was an “odd” place to find herself in, but that she realized the value of the predicament.
“I realised early on that me being quiet about it or me not thinking about it in any way, and not associating myself with it, would be harmful to me and also lots of other people,” she continued. “It’s taught me a lot, and I’m still learning about it. I have not come out the other side and know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m still learning as much as anybody else is.”
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