A fun new trend in entertainment media involves news outlets running stories seemingly every time there’s a reported pay disparity between male and female co-stars.
This week the subjects are Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, who were not compensated equally for their roles in the forthcoming film, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”
Here’s what IndieWire wrote on Tuesday:
To say “Pratt is the bigger name” is something of an understatement. He’s one of the biggest names in all of Hollywood. Given that Pratt’s talents are in higher demand and his participation in the movie will have a greater impact on ticket sales, a 25 percent pay bump is probably modest. Salary negotiations are complicated, but Pratt’s star power alone seems to be a more than adequate explanation in this case.
I’m all for shining a light on the mistreatment of women in Hollywood, and if media exposure gets underpaid actresses the compensation they deserve, that’s positive. But not every pay disparity amounts to sexism. Sometimes men actually deserve more money. And sometimes the disparity is at least questionable and worth debating.
But as is always the case, fussing over non-stories can make it harder for legitimate stories to be treated credibly.
