Matt Smith and Claire Foy have recently been at the centre of Hollywood’s latest salary scandal.
The Crown actors have been receiving much media attention after the news broke that Matt Smith, who plays a young Prince Phillip, was paid notably more than his co-star Claire Foy in her role as Queen Elizabeth II.
Much of the controversy came about as a result of the recognition that the stars have received for their roles on The Crown. Matt Smith is yet to receive any awards for his role as Prince Phillip whereas Claire Foy has won numerous and been nominated for more.
Claire Foy has won a two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe for her role as Queen Elizabeth II.
At the time of the story breaking, a producer of the show explained that Matt Smith was paid more because he was better known following a six-year stint as Doctor Who.
In commenting on Tuesday, the production company that has produced the Netflix series The Crown, said that none of the actors are “aware of who gets what” and as a result should not have to take any ownership or responsibility for the fact that one actor or actress is paid more than another.
It was clear that the production company, Left Bank Pictures, was eager to remove the attention from the actors saying that they were sorry that Matt Smith and Claire Foy “had found themselves at the centre of media attention” over the last week and of course through no fault of their own.
Left Bank Pictures also went on to say that they were very much “united with the fight for fair pay” and were, in fact, keen to speak with Time’s Up to clarify their stance.
The gender pay gap has been a big issue in Hollywood over the last six to twelve months with the producers of All the Money in the World having previously been at the centre of a scandal following an additional shooting.
Since the most recent news broke regarding Matt Smith, a petition has been started to encourage The Crown star to donate some of his salary to the Time’s Up campaign. The Time’s Up campaign is aimed at removing sexism and sexual misconduct within the entertainment industry.
Matt Smith and Claire Foy are both now finished with their roles in The Crown as producers look to keep the authenticity within the show moving towards older actors and actresses to play the British Monarchs in later decades.