Emma Stone Says Male Co-Stars Took Pay Cuts For Her Ahead Of Billie Jean King ‘Battle Of The Sexes’ Movie


Emma Stone knows there’s a battle of the sexes in Hollywood—she’s making a movie with that very same title, in fact—but the Oscar-winning star admits she has been very blessed when it comes to the battle of paychecks for starring roles. In a new interview with Out magazine, Stone revealed that she has worked with male co-stars who have offered to take pay cuts so she can be paid more. Emma revealed that in general, females are paid about four-fifths of what men are paid in Hollywood—and that’s if they’re white women.

In my career so far, I’ve needed my male co-stars to take a pay cut so that I may have parity with them,” Emma told the magazine. “And that’s something they do for me because they feel it’s what’s right and fair.”

While she didn’t name any specific projects or male co-stars, Stone, who in recent years starred in La La Land, Aloha, Irrational Man, and Birdman, said she is “grateful” to have worked with men who believe in equality for all actors.

“That’s really what I’ve been so grateful for with male co-stars—when I’ve been in a similar-size role in films, and it’s been multiple people who have been really incredible and said, ‘That’s what I want to do. That’s what’s fair and what’s right.'” Emma revealed.

[Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

Stone went on to say that actors are paid via a quite system and that if she works with a male co-star who has a higher quote than she does, but takes a pay cut so she can match him, that changes her quote in the future. It’s no surprise that Emma Stone has been named one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.

Last year, Emma Stone told Vogue she did not want to consider herself “lucky” when it comes to the gender pay gap in Hollywood. Emma said she believes everyone in the entertainment business should be treated fairly and paid fairly.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have equal pay to my male costars,” Stone told Vogue last fall. “Not ‘lucky.’ I’ve had pay equal to my male costars in the past few films.”

Unfortunately, not all female stars have been as lucky as Emma Stone. Stone’s current co-star, Andrea Riseborough, told Out she has not had the same experience as Emma when it comes to fair pay.

“I don’t know how many films I’ve been in—20, 25 films, something like that, and I’ve never had the experience of a guy taking any sort of pay cut,” Riseborough said. “In fact, I’ve been number one in films before and been paid a lot less.”

[Image by Allsport Hulton/Archive]

Emma and Andrea have starring roles in the upcoming movie Battle of the Sexes, which tells the true story of the game-changing 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and ex-champ Bobby Riggs. King prevailed in three sets in the high-profile match, and her win started a national conversation about gender equality in sports and beyond. In hindsight, that’s the battle Billie Jean King really won.

“That’s what Billie Jean has always fought for,” Emma said of the equality issue. “She’s never wavered on it, and it’s so beautiful to tie generations together in that way through this story. It’s just a real gift to be a part of it, and I’m so grateful to put a story like that out into the world.”

Emma Stone’s Battle of the Sexes will be released in theaters on September 22.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI]

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