Claire Foy Gets Back Pay After Being Screwed Over as the Queen

I mean, she is the Queen, and queens deserve to get paid! After learning that Claire Foy was paid SIGNIFICANTLY less than her costar for her role as Queen Elizabeth in Netflix’s The Crown, people were seriously mad. And confused. Because it’s a show about the goddamn Queen, and Claire was the Queen, and what kind of bullshit is this?! The salary discrepancy was pretty egregious, too. It’s unclear how much Matt Smith made for his role as Prince Philip. But Claire was paid just $40,000 an episode. And for a show that costs $7 million an episode to make, that’s ridiculous. But now the Queen is getting what’s coming to her, in the form of a nice chunk of back pay.

While the outrage about the salary discrepancy was good, it didn’t matter much in regards to righting the wrong. The show is recast every season, and Claire Foy isn’t returning as the Queen.

But at least the production company is making good on leveling the playing field.

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When the issue first came to light, producer Suzanne Mackie acknowledged the discrepancy but said, “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen.” Which is all well and good, for the next Queen. But what about Claire? Left Bank Pictures, who produces the show, has announced that Foy will be receiving back pay for her time on the show, to the tune of $275,000. That amount should bring her up to Matt Smith’s level.

Last month, Foy opened up about being at the center of the salary controversy.

The actress told Variety, “If I don’t speak up and support myself, then no one else can. It’s about being able to feel you can be your own advocate, and you can make a point, and you can say something without it being you being ”˜difficult.’ It can actually just be you supporting yourself.”

The Crown returns to Netflix in 2019, with Olivia Colman taking over as Queen Elizabeth. Claire Foy starred in Unsane, and can be seen later this year in The Girl in the Spider’s Web and First Man.

(Image: Facebook/The Crown)