Wahlberg to donate US$1.5 mln salary to anti-sexual harassment group #TimesUp
ON SATURDAY Mark Wahlberg announced via Twitter that he will donate the US$1.5 million salary he earned reshooting scenes from “All the Money in the World,” a drama based on the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, to the Times Up Legal Defence Fund.
Walberg became the centre of controversy when it was revealed last year that his costar, Michelle Williams, earned only US$1,000 for reshooting the movie’s scenes. The 10-day reshoot was required when director Ridley Scott decided to replace the actor who played Getty’s grandfather, billionaire oilman J. Paul Getty. Scenes with Kevin Spacey — the subject of multiple abuse allegations — as the elder Getty were edited out, and replaced by scenes featuring Christopher Plumber in the role.
William Morris Endeavor, the talent agency that represents both Wahlberg and Williams, said it will also donate US$500,000 to the fund.
In a statement, Wahlberg said, “Over the last few days my reshoot fee for ‘All The Money in the World’ has become an important topic of conversation. I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the US$1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defence Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”
Michelle Williams told the USA Today in December that she eagerly gave up her Thanksgiving holiday to do a reshoot because she was so grateful the film was going to continue. “I said I’d be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort,” Williams recalled.
Wahlberg and his team drove a much tougher negotiation for the reshoot, as first reported in The Post.
When the pay disparity was revealed, actresses rallied around Williams. Jessica Chastain tweeted, “Please go see Michelle’s performance in ‘All The Money in The World’. She’s a brilliant Oscar nominated Golden Globe winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 yrs. She deserves more than 1% of her male co-star’s salary.”
At the start of 2018, a coalition of women in Hollywood, including Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrara and Shonda Rhimes created Times Up. The organisation seeks to combat harassment in the industry, starting with a legal-defence fund for abuse victims. —
Over the last few days my reshoot fee for ‘All The Money in the World’ has become an important topic of conversation. I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the US$1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defence Fund in Michelle Williams’ name. Mark Walberg, actor