After staying quiet for several days, Mark Wahlberg finally responded to the All the Money in the World reshoot situation by donating more than two million dollars to the “Time’s Up” fund to combat sexual harassment and the gender wage gap in Hollywood.
It was originally reported on Wednesday that following the departure of Kevin Spacey from the Ridley Scott film, Wahlberg earned $1.5 million to work reshoot scenes for the film with Christopher Plummer. Michelle Williams, one of Wahlberg co-stars, earned a mere $80 a day for the same reshoots.
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On Saturday, Wahlberg took to Instagram to clear the air.
“Over the last few days my reshoot fee for All the Money in the World has become an important topic of conversation,” Wahlberg said in a statement. “I 100 percent 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.”
WME, Wahlberg’s agency, also chipped in with an additional $500,000.
“The current conversation is a reminder that those of us in a position of influence have a responsibility to challenge inequities, including the gender wage gap,” WME said in a statement. “In recognition of the pay discrepancy on the All the Money in the World reshoots, WME is donating an additional $500,000 to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name, following our $1 million pledge to the organization earlier this month. It’s crucial that this conversation continues within our community and we are committed to being part of the solution.”
Actresses throughout Hollywood spoke up for Williams following the initial report from USA Today, most notably Jessica Chastain, Judd Apatow and Amber Tamblyn.
“Please go see Michelle’s performance in All the Money in the World,” Chastian tweeted. “She’s a brilliant Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 years. She deserves more than 1% of her male costar’s salary.”
“This is so messed up that it is almost hard to believe. Almost,” Apatow wrote. “This is how this business works. I wonder if the studio or Wahlberg will do something to make the situation less insane,” while actress Sophia Bush tweeted, “Exposing the gross disparity in pay & hard evidence of the gender gap — negotiated by the SAME agents no less! — isn’t a witch hunt. It’s a demand for fair practices.”
“Michelle Williams was paid 1% of what her male co-star made on her latest film,” Tamblyn tweeted. “This is totally unacceptable.”
