Olivia Colman slams Hollywood pay gap: 'If I was Oliver Colman, I'd be earning a f--- of a lot more'

The Oscar winner says she is no exception to the wage disparity between men and women that persists across the industry.

Olivia Colman is getting candid about the gender pay gap in Hollywood, which even an Oscar winner like her cannot avoid.

Ahead of her latest film, Wicked Little Letters, the actress and producer opened up about the wage disparity that persists throughout the industry during a recent appearance on CNN’s The Amanpour Hour.

“Don’t get me started on the pay disparity, but male actors get paid more because they used to say they drew in the audiences,” The Crown star said. “And actually, that hasn’t been true for decades, but they still like to use that as a reason to not pay women as much as their male counterparts.”

Host Christiane Amanpour then asked Colman if she has experienced pay disparity firsthand, given her status as an acclaimed actress with an Oscar, two Emmys, and four BAFTAs as well as high-profile projects like Wonka, The Favourite, Broadchurch, The Crown, Fleabag, and Heartstopper under her belt. She told Amanpour those accolades do not make her an exception.

“I’m very aware that if I was Oliver Colman, I’d be earning a f--- of a lot more than I am,” she replied. “I know of one pay disparity, which is a 12,000 percent difference. Do the maths, I know.”

Colman is the latest Hollywood star to call out gender inequality in wages. Other outspoken advocates include Debra Wilson, who left MADtv in 2003 after discovering a pay disparity between her and the show's white male cast members, and Jennifer Lawrence, who penned an essay on the subject in 2015. Back in 2018, Michelle Williams made headlines after revealing that her costar Mark Wahlberg earned $1.5 million for reshoots of All the Money in the World, while she received less than $1,000.

In December, while promoting The Color Purple, Taraji P. Henson opened up about racial pay disparities when she appeared on Gayle King’s Sirius XM radio show, expressing her frustration and admitting it had made her want to quit acting.

“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing.”

Speaking to EW that same month, she added, “I get this position, this coveted position in this industry that never gives us a break, and sometimes I just get so enraged, because it's like, I've done all of this! But what about all this other — that doesn't count for anything? It's almost like every time I've got to start from scratch!"

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