Jeremy Renner Responds To Gender Pay Inequality Issue, Says It’s Not His Job To Help Female Co-Stars Get Higher Pay

Jeremy Renner shared his thoughts about gender pay inequality in Hollywood, following Jennifer Lawrence’s essay about the issue.

In an interview with Business Insider on Tuesday, Renner was asked whether he would be willing to negotiate fees with his future female co-stars. The actor starred with Lawrence in the 2013 movie, “American Hustle,” where he received a higher pay than his female co-stars, according to hacked Sony emails. Renner responded that helping female co-stars get a higher rate was “not [his] job.”

"I don't know contracts and money and all that sort of stuff," he explained to the Business Insider. "I'm a performer and I know human behavior. When it comes to that sort of stuff I let other people deal with that. I do what I'm good at, that's what I focus on."

Renner’s response was quite different from “American Hustle” co-star Bradley Cooper, who told Reuters that he has begun to partner with his female co-stars to help them negotiate salaries before the start of any project. "I don't know where it's changing otherwise but that's something that I could do," he said. "Usually you don't talk about the financial stuff, you have people. But you know what? It's time to start doing that."

Cooper also applauded Lawrence for speaking up about the issue and said it was “fantastic” that the actress has decided to take a stand against gender pay inequality. He even remarked, "Would people listen if another woman said it?"

Lawrence’s essay, which was published in Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter, spoke about the gap in pay between male and female stars in Hollywood. The actress penned the essay following the release of hacked Sony emails, which revealed that her male co-stars in the movie, “American Hustle,” received more compensation than she and other female stars.

She wrote: “It’s hard for me to speak about my experience as a working woman because I can safely say my problems aren’t exactly relatable. When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d----, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early.”