Actor donates money after pay saga
AMERICAN actor Mark Wahlberg announced on Saturday he would donate $1.5-million (R18.6-million) to a legal fund for victims of sexual harassment following a controversy over the massive pay gap between him and a female co-star.
Ridley Scott partially re-shot his latest movie, All the Money in the
World, after Kevin Spacey was fired due to sexual misconduct allegations, with both Wahlberg and Michelle Williams called back to act opposite Spacey’s replacement, Christopher Plummer.
Williams was reportedly paid less than $1 000 (R12 300) while Wahlberg made $1.5-million for reshoots on the film. “My reshoot fee for All the Money in the World has become an important topic of conversation,” Wahlberg said. “I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the $1.5m to the Time’s Up Legal Defence Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”
The Time’s Up initiative was unveiled by more than 300 major actresses and female writers, directors and other entertainment executives earlier this month.
It aims to tackle pervasive sexual harassment in workplaces, calling special attention to abuse in lessthan-glamorous blue-collar jobs.
The initiative caps a year in which the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal touched off a deluge of allegations that brought down powerful men, prompting the US court system to re-examine harassment policies. —