A petition has been created calling for Matt Smith to donate some of his salary from The Crown to the Time's Up movement after it was revealed he earned more than co-star Claire Foy.
The show's executive producers, Susie Mackie and Andy Harries, revealed the pay disparity during a panel event in Jerusalem last week (ends18Mar18) and noted that Matt, who plays Prince Philip, earned more because he was a bigger name than his co-star, who stars as Queen Elizabeth II, thanks to his role in Doctor Who.
The admission sparked an instant backlash and a petition addressed to Matt and Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings has now been set up on Care2 Petitions urging Matt to donate the difference in their salaries to the Time's Up fund, which aims to tackle sexual harassment and gender inequality.
The move would be similar to what Mark Wahlberg did in January, when it was revealed he earned $1.5 million (£1 million) for the reshoots of All the Money in the World while his co-star Michelle Williams earned $1,000 (£700). He donated the entire sum to Time's Up in Michelle's name.
The petition page opens with, "You know gender pay gaps are a problem when even the Queen isn't paid fairly," and continued, "Recently, a Care2 petition called on Mark Wahlberg to donate his extra paycheck to Time's Up when reports showed he was paid one thousand times more than his co-star, Michelle Williams.
"Over 16,000 Care2 members added their names to call and Walhberg (sic) listened, donating millions to help sexual harassment survivors fight back! We can do it again — this time in the name of the Queen!"
The page, created by a user called Rebecca G, ends by calling on Netflix and the British actor "to show that they stand with women and do the right thing". It has achieved more than 22,500 signatures so far.
Netflix, Matt and Claire have yet to comment on the controversy.
