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Lady Gaga’s salaries in the Joker sequel and Bryce Dallas Howard’s in the Jurassic Park saga have refloated the myth of the “pay gap” between actors and actresses.
Hollywood is one of the main spearheads of leftist ideology. It is not only that the content of their films is impregnated with Marxism, but also that all the gossip around them has this vice. Now they are back at it again with the fallacy of the “pay gap” between actors and actresses.
Over the last week, we have seen how the progressive press has coordinated to bring back to the forefront of the debate the alleged injustice of the “pay gap” between men and women. It seems no coincidence that in a matter of days, the pay disparity between the male and female leads in two of the most popular blockbuster franchises of the moment —Joker and Jurassic Park— has been given a lot of publicity.
Nor does it seem a coincidence that this debate is being revived just before the mid-term elections, with a Democrat Party on life support and the need to manufacture a social injustice to motivate society by naturally dividing it.
According to Variety, Bryce Dallas Howard was paid $8 million for her role in the new Jurassic Park trilogy, while fellow actor Chris Pratt pocketed $10 million. Although Bryce Dallas Howard —daughter of famed filmmaker Ron Howard— said she “was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less.”
Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. (Emilio Naranjo, EFE)
She explained it by saying, “when I started negotiating for ‘Jurassic,’ it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies and so your deals are set.”
The problem with this argument is that she attributes her “great disadvantage” to the fact that “it was a different world,” as if implying that almost a decade ago, Hollywood did not take into account the egalitarian claims of feminism and that since now it pays more attention to these issues, we live in a fairer world for actresses.
What Bryce Dallas Howard doesn’t seem to understand is that it wasn’t the world that was different in 2014, it was her. Back then, she was only known for being Ron Howard’s daughter and for participating in The Village and Lady in the Water, two consecutive failures by M. Night Shyamalan; for having been Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3, the most hated of Sam Raimi’s trilogy and this director’s final stop with the superhero; for having been in Terminator Salvation, another step down in the franchise started by James Cameron; and for a very minor role in the Twilight saga.
Whereas Chris Pratt came from being Andy Dwyer/Burt Macklin, one of the most beloved characters of the successful and award-winning series Parks & Recreation. He had also been a key player in the blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, playing Peter Quill/Starlord; and he was also a key player —here the redundancy is more than justified— in The Lego Movie, bringing Emmet Brickowski to life.
The “pay gap” is not rooted in endemic heteropatriarchy machismo in the industry or society but in the fact that companies pay for expectations in performance and success, regardless of what you may have between your legs —or how you perceive yourself. Now that Bryce Dallas Howard has proven her skills as an actress in such hits as the Jurassic Park saga and Black Mirror, and also as a director in the acclaimed The Mandalorian, she will be able to negotiate her fees accordingly, just as her male colleagues have done by asserting their own accomplishments.
Talking about the wage gap in Joker 2 is quite laughable
The manufactured controversy over Lady Gaga’s salary in the new Joker release perfectly epitomizes how absurd the claims of alleged sexist discrimination are.
Joker: Folie à Deux is the title of the second film release of the movie that revolutionized the comic book film genre in 2019 and became one of the highest-grossing and most iconic films in history. The sequel wants to be as innovative and revolutionary as the original and has made the bold bet of approaching it as a musical film.
Joker: Folie à Deux
10.04.24 pic.twitter.com/obp7T9lBFL— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) August 4, 2022
To emphasize the musical part, they have opted for multi-award-winning Joaquin Phoenix with the acclaimed singer —but emerging actress— Lady Gaga. Despite being paid a not unimpressive $10 million, the left wants to convince us that Lady Gaga is the victim of injustice because Joaquin Phoenix will be paid $20 million.
Interestingly, it so happens that Joaquin Phoenix said he wanted to reinvent himself and abandon his acting career to become a rapper a few years ago. It is still unclear if it was all a publicity stunt for a documentary or if he really wanted to embark on a new musical career, but… would it have been logical that a record company would have paid him as much as Beyoncé or Lady Gaga herself?
Obviously not, because his talent and popularity as an actor was well known, but his ability to rap well enough to sell millions of records was yet to be seen, and none of this has anything to do with whether he is a man or a woman.
Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.
Social Networks: @ignaciomgm