Tessa Thompson has revealed that while Hollywood has taken some big steps in terms of paying women in the industry the same as their male counterparts, there is still a huge lack of equality when it comes to people of colour.
In an interview with Marie Claire, she said, “When we talk about issues of pay equity, that means something different to Natalie Portman than it does to me,” she said. “Women who are not of colour are talking about pay equity with men. (We) are so far away from that.”
When it came to negotiating her salary for Men in Black: International, the actress revealed she felt empowered by her involvement in the 2018 Time’s Up campaign to end sexual misconduct and push for equal rights in the workplace to make her wage demands heard.
“(Time’s Up) allowed me to say things I’m not sure I would have said a year ago.”
“The truth is, the system where you assess international value is inherently sexist and racist because we haven’t had those opportunities. The only way to disrupt that is to create new models.”
Tessa told movie officials that while she was aware of the popularity and fame of Australian hunk Chris, she deserved to get a better deal than what they were offering.
“When we were having the conversation around how we structure our deals, I said, ‘I understand who Chris Hemsworth is and who I am not relative to him, globally and otherwise.
“But in the success of the film, that changes. In success, I want equity. Because then you can’t make the same argument,'” she shared.
And when asked if she got what she wanted, Tessa coyly replied, “Let’s just say we’re all happy.”
Hell yeah she is.