‘He brings in more box office than I do’: Jennifer Lawrence on why Leonardo DiCaprio earned $5 million MORE than her $25M salary despite her top billing on new film Don’t Look Up
- The Oscar-winning actress, 31, revealed during an interview with Vanity Fair that she received top billing in Don’t Look Up
- However despite this, she later learned she was paid $5M less than her co-star DiCaprio, news that was first reported in September
- Lawrence conceded that her co-star ‘brings in more box office’ than she does and insisted that she is ‘extremely fortunate and happy with her deal’
- However, the actress admitted that asking about equal pay is ‘extremely uncomfortable’ and said often those inquiries are deflected
- ‘If you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity but they can’t tell you what exactly it is,’ she explained
Jennifer Lawrence has revealed her thoughts on why her Don’t Look Up co-star Leonardo DiCaprio earned $5 million more than her $25 million salary for the dark comedy – despite the fact that she was given top billing on the project.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the actress, 31, revealed that she fought for her name to appear first in the credits for the movie, explaining that she ‘was number one on the call sheet’ and wanted that to be ‘reflected’ in the billing.
However, while she managed to secure the number one spot in the credits, she later learned that her 47-year-old male co-star earned the higher salary, bringing in $30 million in comparison with her $25 million pay, the equivalent of 83 cents to every dollar that DiCaprio was paid.
Speaking about the pay discrepancy, Lawrence conceded that ‘Leo brings in more box office than she does’ and insisted that she is ‘extremely fortunate and happy with her deal’.
However, the Oscar-winning actress noted that it is still ‘extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay’, revealing that oftentimes, any pay discrepancies are blamed on other issues – although nobody is ever able to pin down what those are.
‘It’s extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay’: Jennifer Lawrence reacted to the news her Don’t Look Up co-star Leonardo DiCaprio was making $5 million more than her $25M salary despite her getting top billing in their new film
‘Look, Leo brings in more box office than I do,’ she said. ‘I’m extremely fortunate and happy with my deal. But in other situations, what I have seen— and I’m sure other women in the workforce have seen as well — is that it’s extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay.
‘And if you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity but they can’t tell you what exactly it is.’
The pay gap between Lawrence and DiCaprio was first reported in September, when Variety shared a list of the industry’s top-earning stars – revealing in the process the $5 million discrepancy in the co-stars’ salaries.
In her new interview, Lawrence hinted that she learned about the pay gap via the media, telling the reporter that she ‘saw that too’ when asked about the news of the differing salaries.
Her comments on the topic of equal pay came after she praised DiCaprio for being so ‘gracious’ about her request for top billing.
When the reporter first mentioned Lawrence’s name appears before everyone else in the opening credits of Don’t Look Up, she flashed ‘a pleased smile’ and said, ‘I was number one on the call sheet, so…’
‘I was number one on the call sheet’: Jennifer also revealed she pushed for top billing in the film after initially getting equal billing with the Titanic star
Out of this world: The storyline of the dramatic comedy casts Lawrence alongside DiCaprio as a pair of astronomers on an uphill battle via a media tour to warn people that a deadly comet is hurtling toward the earth
Asked if she was ‘okay with that’, she then replied: ‘With being number one on the call sheet? Yeah. And I thought [the credits] should reflect that. Leo was very gracious about it.’
Initially, Lawrence and DiCaprio were given equal billing, she revealed, until she chose to push for the top spot.
‘I think we had something called a Laverne & Shirley, which is this billing they invented where it’s an equal billing. But I guess maybe somewhere down the line, I kicked the stone further, like, “What if it wasn’t equal?”‘
The storyline of the dramatic comedy casts Lawrence alongside DiCaprio as a pair of astronomers on an uphill battle via a media tour to warn people that a deadly comet is hurtling toward the earth.
The film, set for release in theaters and Netflix on December 24, boasts an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, and Ariana Grande.
In addition to Don’t Look Up, Jennifer also recalled her near-death experience when she was flying from her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to New York City by private jet in Summer 2017.
The star, who is expecting her first child with husband of two years art gallery director Cooke Maroney, spoke to Vanity Fair about the experience which saw her praying ‘that she would not lose her hair’ and that her dog would survive.
Traumatic: In addition to Don’t Look Up, Jennifer also recalled her near-death experience when she was flying from her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to New York City by private jet in Summer 2017; pictured 2019
While conceding: ‘I know, flying private, I deserve to die’, she remembered how the air pressure in the cabin dropped and she discovered one of the plane’s two engines had failed during the flight with her two brothers.
Jennifer insisted she knew she would then die, saying: ‘My skeleton was all that was left in the seat. We were all just going to die. I started leaving little mental voicemails to my family, you know, ‘I’ve had a great life, I’m sorry’.’
Near-death experience: The star, who is expecting her first child with husband Cooke Maroney, spoke to Vanity Fair about the experience which saw her praying ‘that she would not lose her hair’ and that her dog would survive; pictured 2019
When asked why she apologized, she explained: ‘I just felt guilty. Everybody was going to be so bummed. And, oh, God, Pippi was on my lap, that was the worst part. Here’s this little thing who didn’t ask to be a part of any of this’.
After seeing the runway packed with emergency services, she went on: ‘I started praying. Not to the specific God I grew up with, because he was terrifying and a very judgmental guy…
‘But I thought, ‘Oh, my God, maybe we’ll survive this? I’ll be a burn victim, this will be painful, but maybe we’ll live. Please, Lord Jesus, let me keep my hair. Wrap me in your hair-loving arms. Please don’t let me go bald’. ‘
She revealed that soon after she was forced to board another plane – with the help of a pill and a strong drink. She added: ‘It made me a lot weaker. Flying is horrific and I have to do it all the time.’
She also spoke of the never-ending trauma surrounding the 2014 iCloud leak that saw her private nude pictures published on the internet.
She said: ‘Anybody can go look at my naked body without my consent, any time of the day. Somebody in France just published them. My trauma will exist forever’.
As well as the trauma of the hack, Jennifer also touched on her name being dragged into Harvey Weinstein’s lawsuit, after the disgraced movie boss took a quote from the star out of context to use in his legal defense against sexual assault claims.
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