Six top actresses including Mary J. Blige, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Jennifer Lawrence, and Saoirse Ronan sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss Hollywood’s culture of abuse and how the industry might finally be forced to change.
The women all discussed how sexism and harassment are intertwined with the issue of pay inequality, reports The Hollywood Reporter. But Allison Janney said, “It’s exciting to think of our culture changing.”
Jessica Chastain chimes in that she “hopes the entertainment industry will never be the same,” in the wake of the sexual misconduct, assault, and harassment allegations that have come to light recently. Chastain said these allegations didn’t come out of the blue but that there has been “a history of abuse against women in our industry, and it’s never been addressed.”
Lawrence added that the biggest misconception is that Hollywood is the only industry that has these issues. But she also said that she thinks a big reason so few people come forward is that when they did speak up, they were called “difficult.” Lawrence was worried she wouldn’t get work again if she kept speaking up.
Emma Stone said, “There’s a really amazing article Brit Marling wrote that was essentially saying, if women were paid equally in every industry, this would not be occurring.” She continued, saying she hopes everything that has come out is just the tipping point for people to discuss equal pay for equal work.
Saoirse Ronan noted that a disappointing factor of all this is how many people, journalists and those in Hollywood included, who knew what was happening but didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Mary J. Blige said she went through things as a child that made her shield herself from it when she entered the music industry.
Take a look at the roundtable below.
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