‘The Crown’: Claire Foy breaks silence over controversial pay gap between her and Matt Smith

PRODUCERS recently confirmed that the star of The Queen, Claire Foy, was paid less than her male co-star, Matt Smith. So how does she feel about this?

THE Crown’s Claire Foy has broken her silence over the controversial gender pay gap between her and co-star Matt Smith.

The Netflix series hit the headlines when it emerged that the 33-year-old actor was paid less than the former Doctor Who star, despite taking on the lead role of The Queen, The Sun reports.

Though Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in the first two series of The Crown, producers Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries recently confirmed that Smith, 35, earned a higher wage for starring as Prince Philip because of his larger reputation in the industry.

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.”

The Crown stars Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth I and Matt Smith as Prince Philip. Picture: Supplied/Netflix

Producers at Left Bank Pictures, who make the show which reportedly cost $178 million, took responsibility and apologised for the pay disparity.

In a statement, they said: “We want to apologise to both Claire Foy and to Matt Smith, brilliant actors and friends, who have found themselves at the centre of a media storm this week through no fault of their own.

“Claire and Matt are incredibly gifted actors who, along with the wider cast on The Crown, have worked tirelessly to bring our characters to life with compassion and integrity.

“As the producers of The Crown, we at Left Bank Pictures are responsible for budgets and salaries.

“The actors are not aware of who gets what, and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues.

“We all have a responsibility to do what we can to ensure that these issues are tackled, and as a leading production company we want to make our contribution to the debate.

Claire Foy and Matt Smith arriving for the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

“As company policy, we are engaged in conversations with ERA 50:50 and going forward are keen to talk to Time’s Up UK — organisations which are working to ensure all women have a voice.”

It comes after a petition was started encouraging Smith to donate the difference between his salary and Foy’s to the Time’s Up movement, which was created in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal.

Since then, Left Bank Pictures have confirmed they will pay Olivia Colman, who will take over the role of The Queen in the third series, the same wage as Smith’s replacement, who is yet to be announced.

This article was originally published on The Sun and is reproduced with permission.