The Queen herself, Claire Foy, has finally spoken out regarding the wage gap that was uncovered on The Crown between Foy and her onscreen husband, Matt Smith.
It was revealed that throughout the filming of the first two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown, Matt Smith was paid more than Claire Foy. It was a bit shocking to hear that the woman playing the lead role in the series–the literal Queen of England–wasn’t the highest paid actor on set. Though Foy had been silent on the issue, she’s finally decided to address the salary controversy.
Related: 10 Queen Elizabeth quotes from The Crown to celebrate Claire Foy
Unsurprisingly, Foy handled the situation with extreme grace in her statement. Foy spoke with Entertainment Weekly, and said that while it was a bit surprising to find herself at the center of such a heated debate, she understands why people latched onto the story.
I’m surprised because I’m at the center of it, and anything that I’m at the center of like that is very very odd, and feels very very out of ordinary. But I’m not [surprised about the interest in the story] in the sense that it was a female-led drama. I’m not surprised that people saw [the story] and went, ‘Oh, that’s a bit odd.’ But I know that Matt feels the same that I do, that it’s odd to find yourself at the center [of a story] that you didn’t particularly ask for.
Indeed, it has to feel odd to be a talking point in the larger, very important issue of wage inequality. However, the discussion of Foy’s lower salary has forced The Crown‘s production company, Left Bank Pictures, to change their ways.
The company issued a statement that said, going forward, “no one gets paid more than the Queen.” Left Bank also issued an apology to Claire Foy and Matt Smith for roping them into this conversation and “media storm through no fault of their own.”
We’re glad that Left Bank has decided to change their policy, and that we’re slowly but surely seeing Hollywood change the way it does business. Claire Foy gave a brilliant performance as Queen Elizabeth (one that won her a BAFTA and a Golden Globe), and while it’s unfortunate she wasn’t compensated fairly, we’re glad Olivia Coleman and any future actors to don the crown will be paid what they deserve.