Octavia Spencer says LeBron James is responsible for her getting pay parity for ‘Madam C.J. Walker’.
The 46-year-old actress has revealed that the LA Lakers basketball star helped her to earn what she deserved for starring in the Netflix series, which tells the story of America’s first black self-made millionaire.
Octavia shared: “I have to say, when I was negotiating my deal for ‘Madam C.J.’, LeBron James had to intervene. So we need all our male counterparts to be in the fight with us.”
LeBron, 34, served as an executive producer on the project.
And Octavia feels it’s important to be open and honest about pay in order to address the current imbalance between male and female stars.
She told IndieWire: “I think my goal is to make sure that all women of color get equal pay, and all women get equal pay. The only way to do it is to have these conversations, to talk numbers with your co-stars.”
In 2018, Octavia teamed up with Jessica Chastain to call for equal pay on an unnamed Netflix project.
But the Oscar-winning star feels more needs to be done in order to tackle the problem.
She said: “Jessica and I stood together, and that was interesting that she would take that position – well, I mean, she is Jessica Chastain – but we also need advocates and allies in negotiating.”
Meanwhile, Jessica previously insisted she “isn’t afraid” to speak out against gender inequality.
She said: “It’s important to speak out and amplify our imbalance in the movie-making industry. I have experienced no backlash from anyone since making my views public. I certainly wasn’t afraid to do it. Glad I did it. It’s taken a long time to get this far, and I’m out front for those who cannot speak out. We must turn this around.”
