“I’m happy with my deal”: Jennifer Lawrence Content With Getting Paid $5M Less Than Leonardo DiCaprio, Defended Titanic Star Despite Gender Pay-Gap
American apocalyptic political satire Don’t Look Up (2021), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, broke Netflix’s record for most viewing hours for a movie in a single week. The movie attracted 152 million viewing hours during its debut week. While its budget was $75 million, it only earned $792K at the box office. Director Adam McKay addresses world politics with dark comedy chunks and addresses the serious issue of climate change in a satirical way.
Jennifer Lawrance had reportedly been happy with her $25M payment following the movie’s success on the streaming platform Netflix, despite knowing her male co-star Leonardo DiCaprio earned $5M more than her. And this time she tried to defend the pay gap.
The Less-Paid Jennifer Lawrence Appeared Satisfied With Leonardo DiCaprio’s $5M Pay Gap
Despite being given top billing on Don’t Look Up, the 32-year-old actress Jennifer Lawrence expressed her views on Leonardo DiCaprio earning $5 million more than her $25 million salary for the dark comedy. A Vanity Fair 2021 interview with Lawrence revealed she fought hard to ensure her name appeared first in the movie’s credits, stating that she came first on the call sheet, which should be reflected in the billing.
Despite getting the number one spot in the credits, Lawrence later learned that her male co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio earned $30 million for the movie with a $5M pay gap between them.
Lawrence said in the interview with Vanity Fair,
“Look, Leo brings in more box office than I do.”
She added concerning disparity in pay,
“I’m extremely fortunate and happy with my deal. But in other situations, what I have seen — and I’m sure other women in the workforce have seen as well — is that it’s extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay.”
“And if you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity, but they can’t tell you what exactly it is.”
Lawrence admitted that she learned about the pay gap through the media. However, the pay gap between Lawrence and DiCaprio was first reported in September. During that time, JLaw referred to the pay gap between stars in an interview with Vogue for the October issue as bothersome and expressed her frustration. A few months later, she seemed to handle the issue with greater maturity and defended the gender pay gap.
Jennifer Lawrence’s Experience During Don’t Look Up (2021) Shooting
In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play two low-level astronomers who discover a planet-destroying comet hurling toward Earth and struggle to save the world. Scientists are forced to warn mankind about the impending catastrophe, similar to how climate scientists warn the world today about global warming. Despite being deeply frustrated over being paid less with a $5 million pay gap compared to her male co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, she later pretended to be happy with her present deal to get the spotlight on her. She lost a tooth during filming, which was one of her biggest personal struggles.
In an interview with Variety, she said,
“I lost a tooth pretty early in the filming. And I couldn’t go to the dentist until the movie’s end, so I had to film most of the movie toothless.”
Despite losing her tooth, Lawrence was majorly affected by the pay gap for the movie; however, the film’s success on Netflix somewhat satisfied her. The film was released in theaters and on Netflix on December 10, 2021, and boasts an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, and Ariana Grande.
Source: Vanity Fair
