A recent report by Showbiz Galore claimed that Harry Styles was allegedly paid almost four times more money than Florence Pugh for their upcoming film Don’t Worry Darling. The highly anticipated film directed by Olivia Wilde, is due to be released in the UK on September 23. However, the report on pay is raising a lot of questions.
The alleged figures
The report claims that Pugh will be paid $700,000 and Styles a staggering $2.5m.
This has, rightly so, caused a big backlash and opened up conversation about the gender pay gap. The figures were shocking – in the film, Florence Pugh is playing the lead (Alice Chambers) and Harry Styles is playing the supporting role (Jack Chambers.)
Florence has a diverse backlog of acting, having worked her way up and been in many films such as Midsommar and Little Women. She has a multitude of awards under her belt such as a British Independent Film Award, as well as being nominated for a BAFTA.
Don’t Worry Darling will be Harry Styles’ second movie debut after he had a minor role in Dunkirk.
So why is Harry Styles reportedly being paid so much more?
There is no justifiable reason and a $1.8m difference is huge. Olivia Wilde, the director of the film, has previously advocated for the pay disparity in Hollywood, so it’s confusing why this alleged pay gap is being let slide.
It’s important to note it’s not been confirmed that this report is true, so do take it with a pinch of salt.
Reduced to sex scenes
In a recent interview with Harpers Bazaar, Florence discussed how, after the trailer dropped for Don’t Worry Darling, the sex scenes were what were most talked about.
‘When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry,’ she said.
‘Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.’
So, as well as a pay gap, women in Hollywood also face the issues of being overshadowed by the sex scenes. The most important part of the film shouldn’t be seeing Harry Styles in a sex scene, it takes away from all of the hard work actors like Florence have put in to creating something.
The Pay Gap isn’t new
While this report is only rumoured, the gender pay gap in Hollywood isn’t something new. Speaking to Insider, Jurassic World star Bryce Dallas revealed she was paid so much less than her co-star Chris Pratt.
In 2018, Variety reported that Bryce was paid $2m less than Chris Pratt for the sequel Fallen Kingdom, but she revealed the gap was actually even larger. However, she did confide in Pratt about the pay gap and he helped her by making sure she made more on other things to do with the franchise such as video games and theme park rides.
It shouldn’t have to come down to this though. Women shouldn’t be being paid so much less than their co-stars simply because they are women.
Something needs to change in the world of Hollywood.