Jennifer Lawrence And Patricia Arquette Advocate For Equal Pay, Arquette Says She Lost Jobs From Advocating
Jennifer Lawrence and Patricia Arquette, both talent Oscar-winning actresses spoke in regards to pay inequality at a Hollywood party celebrating and honoring women in film and, more specifically, those nominated for Oscar’s at this weekend’s beg event.
Patricia Arquette was eloquently articulated the issues that are affecting women all over the nation in regards to pay inequality. USA Today relays the star’s words spoken while she graced the red carpet at the Los Angeles Women in Film Cocktail Party.
“When we talk about pay inequality it’s not about Hollywood pay inequality it’s not about actresses pay inequality, it’s about 98% of the industry has inequality. It’s not just about lack of diversity in film, it’s the lack of diversity in CEOs and boardrooms and any position of power. There’s a bigger conversation to be had about power-sharing.”
While inside the party, Arquette gave a pointed speech that underlined her intentions for the cause, including the petition she is a sponsor for that supports the reinstatement of the Equal Rights Amendment. The actress spoke to an engaged audience of women including Alicia Vikander and Maria Bello, in addition to other members of the film industry.
USA Today reminds of a portion of Arquette’s inspiring and poignant speech.
“33 million women and kids who are living in poverty who would not be if they were paid their full dollar. One in five kids in America are hungry and if their moms were getting paid their full dollar, we would have a lot less hungry kids in the United States.”
Jennifer Lawrence, who was a surprise attendee of the event honoring women, and who has been an ongoing advocate for pay equality, was also sure to give an impromptu speech following Patricia’s lead.
“I’m a huge fan of Patricia Arquette, I actually played a younger version of her once, and I love that she stood up, We’re starting a conversation, we’re getting a dialogue going…. I didn’t know I was going to be (speaking)…. Equal pay for women!”
Lawrence has been attempting to shine a light of the pay gap between men and women in the film industry, noting the massive discrepancy between herself, the highest paid actress in Hollywood and the highest paid actor. The Joy star even went so far as to pen a letter in Lenny Letter, a newsletter published by Lena Dunham of the hit HBO show Girls. Lawrence’s letter was added to the October 2015 publication of the newsletter. Patricia Arquette alluded to Lawrence’s efforts in her speech at the event.
“Think about all the other women who are impacted by not having equal rights. And also think about these brave women like Jennifer Lawrence who are standing up and talking about pay inequality and are getting a bunch of (expletive) for it when the reality is millions and millions of women desperately need this.”
Patricia Arquette’s fight for equality, as necessary and inspiring as it is, has, however, apparently cost the actress jobs in the past year. Variety delves into more detail in regards to the costs that go hand-in-hand with Arquette speaking up for what she believes in.
“As guests gathered for cocktails, Arquette told Variety she believes she has paid a price for throwing down the gauntlet at the Oscars, having already lost two acting jobs because of that stand. ‘I’m okay with that,’ she said. ‘But it’s not just about acting, and it’s not about me as an actor. I don’t believe this is fair for anybody. I want to live in the America I believe in, that really is fair, that really has possibilities, and really does treat people of all races and all sexes equally.'”
[Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for Women in Film]
