I was one of the people who was outraged to learn that Gal Gadot was paid but a fraction of the millions Henry Cavill supposedly earned for Man of Steel.
Though there is a painful gender pay gap in Hollywood (leaked emails from Sony proved how Jennifer Lawrence earned far less than her male co-stars in American Hustle, Patricia Arquette’s Oscars acceptance speech also reflected that it’s a long-standing problem in the industry), this is not quite the case. What happened here was more on poor reporting and a social media frenzy.
Elle first came out with the claim that Gal was given a measley paycheck and the publication has since corrected the post. Yes, she was paid $300,000. Gal’s contract is almost the same as Chris Evans’ for his role as Captain America. Mind you, Gal’s check could increase given how Wonder Woman became a smashing hit.
But the $14 million for Henry Cavill is unconfirmed and is sourced from The Richest, a website that speculated Henry’s worth without citing proper sources or data. Both Vulture and Vanity Fair have released reports to clear up the claims to reflect that superhero movies often start at relatively measley figures to what they eventually earn in the box office.
Nevertheless, the assumption that Henry earned more than Gal spread like wildfire with a tweet from freelance journalist Lauren Duca. Though it has been deleted, the tweet was shared over 14,000 times.
Lauren corrected her claim in another tweet, but that didn’t quite take off like the first one. That same tweet was also deleted.
The lesson here? Fighting for gender equality and closing the gender pay gap is always right. But don’t let the noble cause be prey to sensationalized trappings. Let’s not fall into the fault of #alternativefacts.
[Vox]
Photo courtesy of Wonder Woman official Instagram account
Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Viber
Related stories:
Barbara Kruger, Laura Mulvey, Black Widow, Wonder Woman, and The Male Gaze
How Wonder Woman Became a Feminist and Gender Equality Icon
6 ‘Alternative Facts’ From Trump and His Team, and What They Really Mean