Mark Wahlberg Wants to Make Sure Women Are Paid Equally

No matter how many times the myth of the gender pay gap is debunked, it remains a favorite talking point among progressives.  The latest big star to wade into the fight for “equal pay” is Mark Wahlberg, who is fresh off his own pay gap controversy. After donating money to Time’s Up, Wahlberg wants to ensure that women are paid equally.

If you remember, thanks to the revelation that Kevin Spacey allegedly likes young boys, the movie All the Money in the World had to do some reshooting after the disgraced actor was replaced by Christopher Plummer. Turns out, Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million to reshoot the scenes. Michelle Williams, his co-star, was a paid an $80 per diem equaling to about $1000 for the reshoot.

When the news about the pay disparity was released this past January, the blood pressure of progressives the country over spiked to unhealthy levels. Based on the outrage, you would’ve thought Wahlberg had clubbed a baby seal to death with a stack of hundred-dollar bills he had stolen out of Williams; purse. He, of course, was apologetic. But he didn’t need to be.

In December, USA Today published an article in which the director Ridley Scott said of his cast, “They did it for nothing. They all came in for free.” For her part, Michelle Williams corroborated Scott’s claim and told USA Today: “I said I’d be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort.”

Well, as it turns out, they were wrong. The entire cast did not “[come] in for free.” In fact, Mark Wahlberg wisely instructed his agent that he would not be working for free. Due to his understanding of the free market and his agent’s negotiating skills, Wahlberg made an extra $1.5 million, which he promptly gave to the Time’s Up movement to help appease the angry mob.

It’s not his fault, nor the studio’s fault, that Michelle Williams told everyone involved that she’d do the reshoots for free. However, Mark Wahlberg is still seeking absolution from the SJW mob.

Speaking to Extra on Wednesday, Wahlberg said,

We want to continue to make sure that everybody feels that we’re having equal opportunity and equal pay for everybody. If there was a discrepancy in what we were doing in making the movie, we have a long way to go. We need to work together to make sure that everybody gets an equal opportunity out there.

I can’t speak for other movies, but one thing I do know is that Michelle Williams had an equal opportunity to get paid for the reshoots, too. However, she chose to work for free. Why should movie studios turn down offers to work for free from pricey movie stars?

Mark Wahlberg should stop his self-flagellation over a smart business decision he made. It’s not his fault that Michelle Williams was paid less than he was. The “pay gap” was her fault and no one else’s.