“The Crown” star Claire Foy has dismissed reports that she received $275,000 in back-pay for her role as Queen Elizabeth II after it was revealed that she was paid less than her co-star Matt Smith on the show.
The Netflix show, which is currently in its third season and has a different set of actors playing the Royals, attracted severe criticism for the pay disparity between Smith and Foy.
Some reports later suggested that the producers had rectified it but Foy said she did not receive any back-pay.
“That was what was reported, that I was back-paid,” the Golden Globe-winning actress told agencies.
“I’ve never mentioned anything about it and neither have the producers. The fact that that is ‘fact’ is not quite correct.”
Foy, who won a Golden Globe award for her role on the monarchy drama, said it was odd to find herself in the middle of the debate, which extends beyond the entertainment industry.
“It happened at the same time as it was coming out with a lot of other people that there was a lot of pay inequality across the board in the music industry, in journalism, in every industry. It’s across the board that it became part of a bigger conversation, which is an odd place to find yourself in.”
Producers Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries had revealed at a panel at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem that Smith, 35, received a bigger paycheck due to his higher profile coming off “Doctor Who”.
“Going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen,” Mackie had said at the time.
