The Hollywood campaign against sexual harassment in the workplace, Time’s Up, has received a $1.5m donation thanks to actor Mark Wahlberg.
The donation follows widespread criticism after it was revealed Wahlberg was paid $1.5m to reshoot scenes in ‘All The Money in the World’, whereas his female co-star, Michelle Williams, received just $80 a day for the extra work.
Launched on 1 January, Time’s Up was unveiled to the public via an open letter to the film, TV and performing arts industries in the New York Times. Originally, the campaign had aimed to raise $15m to fund legal support for female and male victims of sexual harassment at work, a target it had now surpassed.
Reshoots on ‘All The Money in the Word’ were required after Kevin Spacey was removed from the film following allegations of predatory of sexual behaviour. On 13 January, Wahlberg tweeted he had donated the fee, in Williams’ name, and that he “100% support(s) the fight for fair pay”.
In a statement on Saturday, Williams said: "Today isn't about me. My fellow actresses stood by me and stood up for me, my activist friends taught me to use my voice and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted."
The issue of equal pay and closing the ‘gender pay gap’ is prominent in many industries, including the media, with the publication of BBC salaries last year sparking widespread debate. Days into 2018, the BBC’s China editor, Carrie Gracie, resigned from her role claiming she wasn’t being paid the same amount as prominent male correspondents.
On the flip side, however, at a former engineer at Google this week launched a lawsuit contending discrimination against white, conservative men.