Matt Smith has finally spoken out about the pay inequality between himself and Claire Foy, the lead in Netflix’s hit series The Crown.
Fans were incredibly upset to learn that Claire Foy, the lead and award-winning actor in Netflix’s The Crown, earned less than her co-star Matt Smith. Some initially shrugged the pay inequality off to Smith’s pre-existing Doctor Who popularity. However, with the massive success of the show (which is about the life of Foy’s character, Queen Elizabeth II, not Smith’s character, Prince Philip), and Foy’s award nominations and wins in big ceremonies like the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes, and the Emmys made the wage inequality seem baffling, frustrating, and incredibly unfair.
Naturally, the issue was brought to light and Left Bank, the producers of The Crown, publicly apologized for the inequality and promised that moving forward, “no one gets paid more than the Queen.” Foy herself issued a statement, admitting that while it was odd to be in the center of such a debate, she understood why fans found it troubling. Up until now, however, Matt Smith had remained silent on the entire matter.
Related: Claire Foy responds to The Crown wage gap controversy
Smith spoke with The Hollywood Reporter at the Tribeca Film Festival, and he finally addressed the wage disparity.
“Claire is one of my best friends, and I believe that we should be paid equally and fairly and there should be equality for all. I support her completely, and I’m pleased that it was resolved and they made amends for it because that what’s needed to happen. Going forward, I think we should all bear in mind that we need to strive to make this better and a more even playing field for everyone involved — but not just in our industry, in all industries.”
While it is great to hear Smith come out and support his former castmate and friend so fully, his comments about Netflix “making amends” has got us scratching our heads. It’s unclear if that means Foy received some sort of compensation after the pay disparity came to light, or if he is simply referring to Netflix’s decision to always ensure no one is paid more than the actor playing the Queen on the series.
Smith also didn’t comment on the pressure from fans to donate the extra portion of his salary to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. However, we’re hopeful that Smith’s comments do mean that Netflix and Left Bank compensated Claire Foy appropriately for the brilliant job she did in seasons 1 and 2 of The Crown, and we’re glad to see another powerful name in Hollywood speaking out against pay inequality.