Natalie Portman speaks out about her gender pay gap

Actress Natalie Portman recently discussed a difference in pay between herself and her male co-star in a past film, becoming the latest in Hollywood to bring up the issue. 

Ms. Portman, who has recently been nominated for various prizes for her work in the 2016 film “Jackie,” in which she portrays Jackie Kennedy, recently stated in an interview that her co-star, Ashton Kutcher, was paid far more than her when the two worked on the 2011 romantic comedy “No Strings Attached.” 

Portman told Marie Claire, “‘I knew and I went along with it because there’s this thing with 'quotes' in Hollywood … His [quote] was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more. I wasn’t as [angry] as I should have been. I mean, we get paid a lot, so it’s hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy. Compared to men, in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar. In Hollywood, we are making 30 cents to the dollar.” 

Mr. Kutcher later praised Portman for continuing the conversation about actresses being paid less in Hollywood. 

Actresses have spoken out about the gender pay gap for some time, with Jennifer Lawrence in particular drawing attention for her 2015 essay about being paid less than her male co-stars.

When Forbes released their estimation of which actor and actress were paid the most in 2016, the publication named Dwayne Johnson and Ms. Lawrence as the person in each category who earned the most that year, with estimated incomes of $64.5 million and $46 million, respectively.

“I don’t think women and men are more or less capable,” Portman said during her recent interview. “We just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities. We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem.”