Susan Sarandon Says Paul Newman Gave Her Slice Of ‘Twilight’ Salary To Close Pay Gap
Can you believe this guy? Image by Getty Images
Is it possible to fall more in love with Paul Newman?
Newman, the nicest Jewish boy that ever there was, gave away some of his salary for the 1998 movie “Twilight” when he realized his equally-billed female co-star was receiving unequal pay, Susan Sarandon told BBC5.
Speaking about women’s rights in Hollywood on Thursday morning, Sarandon told the radio station that though Newman, Sarandon, and their co-star Gene Hackman were given equal billing in the movie, Newman and Hackman were benefitting from a private deal with producers that the two men would receive the same pay. When Newman learned that Sarandon’s salary on the movie was significantly lower, she says, he told her, “Well I’ll give you part of mine.” Newman, who died in 2008, “was a gem,” she said.
Sarandon, who has been given to controversial political views in the past, reflected on recent changes in Hollywood, saying that “giving yourself sexually, or being drawn to power and wanting to have sex with someone that’s in power, is also a choice.” She added, “what we don’t want to have is being exploited and have the Harvey Weinsteins of the world holding it over your head and holding it over your project.” That, she said, is “the most despicable.”
Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
