A furious debate broke out on Good Morning Britain as guests clashed over whether actors should be paid according to their “drawing power”.
The Apprentice star Ryan-Mark Parsons said that “the highest earners in Hollywood are men because people want to see men in movies”, while journalist Anna May Mangan argued that “women deserve the parity at all levels, we are in 2024 and not 1884.”
It comes after Olivia Colman addressed the pay gap in Hollywood, saying the excuse that male actors are paid more because they appeal to a wider audience has not been true for decades.
Ryan-Mark disagrees, saying, “Look at Adam Sandler, he’s at the top of Hollywood’s highest earners – $57 million he made last year.” It’s because people want to see men in movies. Hollywood’s top earners are dominated by men, people just want to see men.
However, Anna May argued: “Actors are actors. One of the highest-grossing films of all time is Titanic. Do you think they could have done this without Kate Winslet? I do not think so.’
A furious debate broke out on Good Morning Britain as guests argued over whether actors should be paid more for pulling power? Former Apprentice star Ryan-Mark Parsons has said that “the highest earners in Hollywood are men because people want to see men in movies”.
Speaking to hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, Anna May added: “I don’t know what you both earn, but I hope you get equal pay because you do the same job, in the same place , sitting on the same chairs. But you are probably saying that Susana should receive less than Richard.
Ryan-Mark replied: “Whoever brings the most entertainment should probably bring the most. Maybe it’s Richard Madeley who should win more because he’s more entertaining.
Asked by Susanna how to “quantify” who is more entertaining, the Celebs Go Dating star replied “maybe Richard gets higher marks”.
He added: “I’m not sure, you’ll have to talk to ITV about it, but whoever gets more viewers, it should go like that.”
Anna May argued: “What do you prefer? I saw Maverick this weekend, it was sensational. But how does that compare to the Banshees of Inisherin, who are both male and female. So your point of view is culturally illiterate.
Ryan-Mark added: “Watch Skyfall. People want to go see James Bond, which is played by a man and that’s why it was so successful at the box office.
“The risk is that we remove the artistic integrity of a film in favor of external factors, like ensuring equal pay for men and women. We don’t need to think about that, we just need to think casting decisions.
Journalist Anna May Mangan said “women deserve parity at all levels, it’s 2024, not 1884.”
Speaking to presenters Susanna Reid (right) and Richard Madeley, Anna May added: ‘I don’t know what you earn, but I hope you get equal pay’
Anna May argued that Ryan-Mark had not spoken about any film having “artistic value” and claimed he had “the right” to constantly speak about it throughout the debate.
“Women deserve parity at all levels, it is 2024 and not 1884,” she added.
Viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to leave their own thoughts on the controversial topic.
One person said: “Of course. What a stupid Q. Stars are paid according to their commercial value in each industry.
Another said: “It’s 2024 and ALL women should be paid equally as actresses. The fact that GMB would allow someone to demean women in the industry is absolutely absurd. Time for change! #EqualPay #WomenInFilm #TimesUp #RepresentationMatters’
Someone else said: “I watched Damsel the other day. I watched the first hour and it was the worst movie I have ever seen. He beat the worst one before, which was Cowgirl. Women are not at the box office. Look at Marvel and Star Wars, Dr Who are all bullshit when women get involved.
It comes after The Crown actress Olivia weighed in on the pay gap in Hollywood by insisting she would be paid more if her first name was ‘Oliver’.
Viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to leave their own thoughts on the controversial topic.
The Oscar-winning actress, 50, spoke about the wage gap on CNN’s The Amanpour Hour, revealing that she was aware of a wage gap of a whopping 12,000 percent.
When asked about her own experience, Olivia said: “Don’t get me started on the pay disparity, but male actors get paid more because they said they were a crowd-pleaser.
“Actually, that hasn’t been true for decades, but they still like to use that as a reason to not pay women as much as their male counterparts.”
“I’m very aware that if I were Oliver Colman I would earn a lot more than I do. I know of a salary disparity, which represents a difference of 12,000%.
Olivia played the role of Queen Elizabeth II in the third and fourth series of The Crown, reprising the role from her predecessor Claire Foy.
The 50-year-old Oscar-winning actress said the excuse that men attract audiences and therefore should be paid more has not been true for decades.
Claire previously said she was “deeply hurt” when she learned her co-star Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip, was paid more than her.
In an interview with NET-A-PORTER’s digital magazine PorterEdit in 2018, the actress chose to call it a “dirty secret” as she lamented the situation.
She explained: “I was deeply hurt by (the pay gap), because I had been working on this show for two years. I loved everyone on it.
“And then I realized there was a big, big, dirty secret that no one ever talked about. And then there was also this thing (of being) an inadvertent spokesperson. Why did it have to be me?
She added: “You feel lucky to have a job. It’s so competitive. Thus, they rely on the competitiveness and vulnerability of the actors to say: “They will accept it for $10,000 less”.
“I could have said nothing. And I think everyone would have preferred that. But I thought if I did that I would be cheating myself and every other woman I know.