Michelle Williams ‘paralysed’ by pay gap with Mark Wahlberg

Michelle Williams has spoken out about the personal hurt she felt discovering she was paid 1000 times less than Mark Wahlberg.

Michelle Williams has spoken about being “paralysed in feelings of futility” after discovering she had been paid substantially less than her male co-star.

In late 2017, news broke that Williams had been paid less than $US1000 ($1A409) for 10 days of reshoots on All The Money In The World.

But in contrast, Williams’ co-star Mark Wahlberg was paid 1000 times more than her, earning $US1.5 million ($A2.11 million) for the reshoot.

The extensive refilming was required for scenes featuring Kevin Spacey after he was dropped from the project and replaced by Christopher Plummer following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams. Picture: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

At the time,TMZreported Wahlberg had producers “over a barrel” when he demanded $US1.5 million to reshoot scenes, and his representative told them the star “never” worked for free.

But Wahlberg later donated his salary to anti-sexual harassment campaign Time’s Up after public outcry over the pay disparity.

Speaking at Washington’s Capitol Hill on Tuesday to mark Equal Pay Day, Williams revealed she felt helpless upon first learning Wahlberg had made more than her.

“In late 2017, the news broke that I’d been paid less than $1000 compared to the $1.5 million that my male counterpart had received for the exact same amount of work,” she said.

Michelle Williams speaks at an event to celebrate the Paycheck Fairness Act on Equal Pay Day at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Picture: Mandel Ngan / AFP

“And guess what, no one cared. This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home.”

Williams said she had been “paralysed in feelings of futility” until her friend and actress Jessica Chastain began publicising the pay gap on Twitter, leading to Wahlberg to donate the money to Time’s Up.

Since then, Williams said she had been treated differently on film projects.

“I could tell my workplace was shifting. Rather than being grasped too tightly or hugged for too long as a morning greeting, my hand was shaken, and I was looked squarely in the eye, and I was welcomed to my Monday morning,” she said.

“On the job I just completed two weeks ago, I have to tell you, I was paid equally with my male co-star.”