Sienna Miller says she was told to 'f*** off' when she asked for equal pay to male co-star's salary
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Aisha Nozari
Featured Image Credit: Stills Press/Uwe Deffner/Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Sienna Miller’s latest interview has no doubt left some powerful men working in theatre feeling a little hot under the collar, and for good reason.
The actor revealed she once asked a Broadway producer to match her pay to her male co-star’s, and was promptly told to ‘f**k off’.
While Sienna didn’t name the producer or production directly for fear of ‘being mean’, she’s only ever appeared in two shows in New York - 2014’s Cabaret and 2009’s Miss Julie.
Miller told Vogue: “I said to the producer, who was extremely powerful, it’s not about money — it’s about fairness and respect, thinking they’d come back and say, ‘Of course, of course.’ But they didn’t.”
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She added: “They just said, ‘Well f**k off then.’”
Miller said the comment made her feel ‘terrible and embarrassed’ and called it a ‘pivotal moment’ in her career.
The mum-of-one said despite her initial embarrassment, she later came to her senses, realising she had ‘every right to be equally subsidised for the work that I would have done’.
The actor continued: “[Actors who are] ten years younger have the word ‘no’ in their language in a way that I didn’t.
“[Now] if you say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable’ in front of any form of executive, they’re s******g their pants. You’re included in a conversation about your level of comfort. It’s changed everything.”
This isn't the first time Miller has touched upon pay gaps in the performing arts.
After her 21 Bridges co-star Chadwick Boseman’s death in 2020, Miller revealed that his salary for the 2019 film was higher than hers.
Knowing this, Boseman made sure Miller’s pay matched his by giving her a portion of his own salary.
She told Empire: “It is unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully.
“It was about the most astounding thing that I’ve experienced. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen.”
Miller added: “He said, ‘You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth.’ In the aftermath of this I’ve told other male actor friends of mine that story and they all go very very quiet and go home and probably have to sit and think about things for a while.”
Elsewhere in her new Vogue interview, Miller reflected on the ‘chaos’ of her early fame, saying: “There are some things I regret, because I wish I’d been more protected.”
She went on: “But life was so out of control. It’s a miracle that I actually retained a career and a life.” And what a career she’s gone on to have!