'So proud of Natalie!' Ashton Kutcher backs his No Strings Attached co-star Portman for speaking out about the gender pay gap

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 20:03 EST, 11 January 2017 | Updated: 20:10 EST, 11 January 2017

He got paid three times more than his co-star when they appeared in No Strings Attached.

Now Ashton Kutcher is backing Natalie Portman for speaking out about the gender pay gap that saw her earn so much less than he did for the 2011 romantic comedy.

On Wednesday, the 38-year-old actor posted a message of support to Natalie via Twitter.

Her biggest supporter: Ashton Kutcher is backing his No Strings Attached co-star Natalie Portman for speaking out about the gender pay gap that saw her get paid three times less than he did for the 2011 romantic comedy

He said: 'So proud of Natalie and all women who stand up for closing the gender pay gap!' 

And he shared a link to the Marie Claire UK interview in which the 35-year-old revealed the huge pay disparity.  

In the interview, the Oscar-winning actress admitted she should have been more annoyed than she was at the huge division in their pay cheques on the movie.

But she said she found it hard to complain because even her more modest salary was still 'a lot'.

Equality gap: The 38-year-old took to Twitter to share his support with his 17.6million followers

Not mellow in yellow: The 35-year-old actress pictured at the Golden Globes on Sunday

She said: 'Ashton Kutcher was paid three times as much as me on No Strings Attached.

'I knew and I went along with it because there's this thing with "quotes" in Hollywood.'

Natalie went on to explain that one's quote is the highest someone has ever been paid.

Mutual attraction: The two starred together in the 2011 romantic comedy but didn't get paid the same by a huge margin

The Oscar-winning actress explained:  'His was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more. 

'I wasn't as p***ed as I should have been. I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy.' 

And Natalie - who is expecting her second child, a sibling for five-year-old Aleph, with husband Benjamin Millepied - insisted the gender pay gap is far bigger in Hollywood than any other industry.

She said: 'Compared to men in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar. In Hollywood, we are making 30 cents to the dollar.'

Cover girl: The actress talked about the Hollywood gender pay gap in the cover interview for the February issue of Marie Claire UK

The actress' s next movie project will see her play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, directed by Mimi Leder.

She said: 'I don't think women and men are more or less capable [as directors], we just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities. 

'We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem. As this story is specifically about gender discrimination, I was like, how dare we not hire a female.'

Eye-opening: Natalie said at the time she wasn't as upset as she should have been and added: 'I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy'

 

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