'Don't Look Up': Jennifer Lawrence Isn't Upset By The Pay Disparity Between Herself & Leonardo DiCaprio

Equal pay in the film industry amongst men and women is an issue that has been brought to light quite a bit over the past few years. We’ve seen many actors and actresses taking stands to make sure pay is equal no matter the gender and should be based on the size of the role, not necessarily the size of the name. But in the case of “Don’t Look Up,” with its two stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, the latter thinks it’s understandable why she didn’t make as much as her co-star, even if she is #1 on the call sheet.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t Look Up’: Jennifer Lawrence Was Told By Adam McKay To Smoke Weed Before A Scene With Meryl Streep

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Lawrence talked about the pay disparity between herself and DiCaprio on the film, “Don’t Look Up.” It’s been reported that Lawrence earned $25 million for her role, while DiCaprio earned $30 million, even though Lawrence is the first billed actor on the call sheet. But she doesn’t see an issue with this pay difference.

“Look, Leo brings in more box office than I do,” she explained. “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.”

One thing that Lawrence did fight for is the way she is credited in the film. Instead of the proposed idea of giving her and DiCaprio equal placement in the credits, the actress fought to have her name appear first, followed by DiCaprio.

“With being number one on the call sheet? Yeah. And I thought [the credits] should reflect that,” she said. “Leo was very gracious about it. 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?’”

Lawrence is gracious in her own right, by understanding that when you talk about the difference between $25 million and $30 million, though $5 million is a lot of money, it’s still a quite a bit of money for both of them. It also shows the pay disparity issue isn’t as cut and dry as some of the other situations plaguing Hollywood right now. Regardless, it would appear the cast of “Don’t Look Up” isn’t upset by pay issues. 

“Don’t Look Up” hits select theaters on December 10 before hitting Netflix on December 24.