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Claire Foy got back pay from Netflix to close ‘The Crown’ wage gap

All hail the queen.

 

Christine Friar

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Posted on May 1, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 4:59 pm CDT

Netflix reportedly righted a wrong recently, by retroactively paying The Crown‘s Claire Foy the $275,000 necessary to match her salary to co-star Matt Smith‘s.

The gesture comes nearly two months after the media put the streaming giant on blast. Back in March, it was revealed that the queen of Netflix’s Emmy-winning original series was paid only a fraction of what her male co-star was making. Ironically, a lot of The Crown‘s first two seasons address the struggle Queen Elizabeth II had with getting England to take her seriously as a ruler because of her gender.

Now, according to reports, Foy and Smith have been compensated an equal amount for their time on the series.

According to the Daily Mail, “The difference in the wages between Matt and Claire in the 20 episodes of the show so far was backdated. It has all been amicably resolved.” Foy was reportedly awarded £200,000 in back pay, or roughly $275,000.

Back in March, more than 25,000 people signed a petition asking for Smith to donate his earnings to the Time’s Up campaign, which raises legal aid for victims of workplace gender discrimination and violence. While that donation didn’t happen, last week Smith told the Hollywood Reporter, “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’s what needed to happen.”

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*First Published: May 1, 2018, 2:14 pm CDT