14 DAY TRIAL // Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams made a fraction of the money their male co-stars in “American Hustle” made, and since this became public knowledge with the Sony Hack, Lawrence is using it as a means to continue the conversation on the need for pay equality in Hollywood. That’s one conversation Jeremy Renner has nothing to add to.
Lawrence is an Oscar-winning actress but she was paid considerably less than Renner, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, even though they were all billed the same in the film. She wrote a powerful op-ed on the topic last week, which earned her public support from Cooper, who said he would negotiate his salary with his female co-stars so as to force producers to treat them equally.
Not Renner, though.
“Not my job”
A few days later, Renner was doing an unrelated appearance when the question of the pay disparity in Hollywood came up. He said that, while he supported the idea of equal pay, it was his “job” to make sure it became a reality.
He was an actor and he chose to stick to what he did, leaving money issues to people whose job involved dealing with money issues. He seemed to be saying that, since he wasn’t personally negotiating his own salary, he couldn’t possibly do that for someone else’s.
His comments were labeled “white man privilege” and compared to someone saying something along the lines of “I’m white and I’m not racist, so I don’t ever want to hear a thing about structural racism.”
They also earned him the label of a “douche” because, by insisting that he was just an actor whose job was to act, he seemed to be denying the very existence of a problem. There have been many cases when a larger group of actors negotiated their salary together to ensure there was pay equality, and the sitcom “Friends” is perhaps the best known.
Burying your head in the sand couldn’t make a problem go away, critics told Renner.
It’s still not Renner’s job
Following the backlash, both the actor and his publicist are taking the stand to set the record straight.
“The context was that he is all for women or anyone having salary equality, but that's someone else's job to handle and not his,” his publicist says for ABC News. “He is most supportive, but doesn't involve himself in those conversations, so when asked, he was basically saying that.”
The publicist is reiterating what Jenner said: he’s all for equality as long as he doesn’t have to do a thing about it.
Renner too has discussed this on Twitter, first with a cryptic message that calls for action not idle talk, then by accusing the media of sensationalizing his initial comment. Clearly, he stands his ground.
SHOW me what you do, I'll stand by your side, only TALK about want you do, I can only listen. #actions #talkischeap #LoveWins
— Jeremy Renner (@Renner4Real) October 22, 2015
Dear sensationalism, "Pay her" isn't the headline to get you the attention you're needing? Here's a big Twitter hug #journalismmatters
— Jeremy Renner (@Renner4Real) October 22, 2015