Matt Smith on The Crown ’s Gender Pay Gap: “We All Should Be Paid Equally and Fairly”

Paul Chi
Updated

Matt Smith is commenting for the first time about the controversial news that for two seasons, he was paid more for playing Prince Philip on The Crown than his co-star Claire Foy, who played the leading role of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s Emmy-winning series.

“I believe that we all should be paid equally and fairly,” Smith said at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday evening, where he debuted his latest film: Mapplethorpe, in which he plays the polarizing American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. “Claire is one of my best friends. I support her completely.”

The headline-making pay-gap revelation first came to light last month, when Suzanne Mackie, one of The Crown’s producers, said during a panel discussion that Smith was paid more than Foy for their two seasons of work. The main reason for the disparity, she said, was Smith’s status as an established star, thanks to his leading role as the title character in Doctor Who; Foy, by contrast, was not as big a name when The Crown premiered.

A few days later, Left Bank, the production company behind The Crown, released a statement apologizing to Foy and Smith, “who have found themselves at the center of a media storm this week through no fault of their own.”

See the video.

On the red carpet at Sunday night’s premiere, Smith went on to say that he’s “pleased” that the producers are correcting the pay disparity; they have pledged to rectify the situation in the drama’s upcoming third and fourth seasons, making sure that nobody gets paid more than the actress playing Elizabeth. (Unfortunately, Foy will not benefit from this shift, as she and Smith have both left The Crown; the series is introducing an all-new cast of actors to play older versions of Elizabeth and Philip as the rest of the action shifts forward in time.)

“That’s what needed to happen,” said Smith. “Going forward, I think we should all bear in mind, and we need to strive to make this a better and more even playing field for everyone involved. But not just in our industry—in all industries.”

The Famous and Controversial Guests of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, and Kate Middleton’s Weddings

Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine, in fur, at the wedding of the newly titled Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and then-Princess Elizabeth. Please refer to season one of Netflix’s The Crown for the underlying dramas that this picture does not convey.
Margaret Thatcher had only served two years as Britain’s prime minister when she attended Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s wedding in July 1981.

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher had only served two years as Britain’s prime minister when she attended Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s wedding in July 1981.
By Serge Lemoine/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
The other member of conservative royalty, U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan, was in attendance as well.

Nancy Reagan

The other member of conservative royalty, U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan, was in attendance as well.
From Bettmann Collection.
Princess Diana once recalled how kind Grace Kelly had been to her during a public event after she and Charles were engaged. Princess Grace would pass away in a car accident a year after the wedding, and Diana requested to attend the funeral, since they had had so much in common.
Elton John was a close friend of Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana (despite a brief falling out). The “Candle in the Wind” singer reportedly got misty-eyed as the couple walked down the aisle.
A pop star, a footballer, and their hats. Victoria Beckham was pregnant with their fourth child, Harper, when she attended Prince William’s wedding, and paired the famous milliner Philip Treacy design with one of her own. David wore Ralph Lauren and majorly goofed by wearing his O.B.E. medal on the wrong lapel. The horror!
British tabloids did a double take at singer Joss Stone’s conservative look for Will and Kate’s day. They were used to more of a “hippie” vibe.
Ah yes, the most famous couple of all at this particular wedding: the father and stepmother of the groom.

Prince Charles and Camilla

Ah yes, the most famous couple of all at this particular wedding: the father and stepmother of the groom.
By Odd Anderson/AFP/Getty Images.
Hello! magazine readers voted the princess as “The Most Elegant Guest,” so!
Philip Treacy strikes again on the head of Princess Mathilde.

Crown Princess Mathilde and Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium

Philip Treacy strikes again on the head of Princess Mathilde.
By Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock.
The hats heard round the world! (Two more Philip Treacy originals.)
The biggest V.I.P. of all, Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of England, in a buttery yellow.

Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip

The biggest V.I.P. of all, Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of England, in a buttery yellow.
By David Hartley/REX/Shutterstock.
Palmer-Tomkinson, an English socialite who once appeared on I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, was a vision in blue at Prince William and Kate’s wedding. (She was also in attendance at Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005.) She died in 2017 at the age of 45.
Enterprising genealogists made a tenuous link between British filmmaker Guy Ritchie and Kate Middleton at the time of the wedding, but he was likely invited as a friend of the royal family.
And now the Spanish Inquisition! Queen Letizia of Spain was merely the humble Princess Letizia of Asturias in 2011, but attended the festivities with her husband and mother-in-law.
Marina Fogle and her husband Ben, the British broadcaster and explorer, with bleached tips and tails.

Ben and Marina Fogle

Marina Fogle and her husband Ben, the British broadcaster and explorer, with bleached tips and tails.
By Jasper Juinen/Getty Images.
These two would tie the knot three months after Kate and William, though there were reports that Charlene had attempted to run away. (Both parties denied the allegations.)