Claire Foy to receive back pay for The Crown after salary gap dispute

PRODUCERS of The Crown faced major backlash recently when we all found out its star Claire Foy had earned way less than co-star, Matt Smith. Now they’ve fixed the problem.

CLAIRE Foy has received a huge sum in back pay from The Crown’s producers, following an outcry after her pay gap with co-star Matt Smith was exposed.

Foy, who starred as Queen Elizabeth II for the first two seasons of the hit Netflix series, was given $363,500, to close the gap between herself and Smith — who played Prince Philip in the series — according to the Daily Mail.

The actress originally earned a reported $38,200 per episode for her 20-episode run, and while Smith’s salary has never been revealed, it’s understood the extra sum she received put the pair at parity.

Foy was getting less pay than Smith, despite being the titular character. (Photo by Grant Pollard/Invision/AP, File)

When the discrepancy was first exposed, The Crown producers defended the decision, claiming it was due to Smith being more well-known at the start of filming, thanks to his Doctor Who role.

However, Smith himself supported Foy’s bid for pay equality.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last week, he hinted that the issue had been “resolved”.

“Claire is one of my best friends, and I believe that we should be paid equally and fairly,” he asserted.

“I support her completely, and I am pleased that it was resolved and they made amends for that because that’s what needed to happen. Going forward, I think we should all bear in mind we need to strive to make this better, a more even playing field, for everyone involved — but not just in our industry, in all industries.”

Foy as Queen Elizabeth II.

The issue first came to light in March when Foy and Smith’s salaries were discussed by producer Suzanne Mackie during a panel discussion as reported by Variety.

Mackie and her fellow producers acknowledged that Smith did earn more for The Crown due to his Doctor Who fame, but vowed that future seasons of the show would see that pay gap closed.

“Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” said Mackie.

Following the outcry, Foy told Entertainment Weekly : “I’m surprised because I’m at the centre of it, and anything that I’m at the centre of like that is very, very odd, and feels very, very out of ordinary.

“But I’m not [surprised about the interest in the story] in the sense that it was a female-led drama,” she said.

“I’m not surprised that people saw [the story] and went, ‘Oh, that’s a bit odd’.

“But I know that Matt feels the same that I do, that it’s odd to find yourself at the centre [of a story] that you didn’t particularly ask for.”