Goldie Hawn opened up about the sexism she and her costars faced while making “The First Wives Club”
Goldie Hawn is a comedy legend, and she’s spent decades trying to shatter the notion that women in Hollywood aren’t as funny or valuable as men. She has paved the way for every comedian (both male and female!) that came after her, but Goldie admitted in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar that one of her most iconic movies caused a storm of sexism. We’re so disappointed to hear this.
Goldie is busy promoting Snatched with co-star Amy Schumer, and we’re thrilled to see the two funny ladies igniting the big screen together. But Goldie just revealed that one of her other big-screen triumphs, The First Wives Club, faced a slew of sexism from studio execs.
The First Wives Club recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, and it’s an (unfortunately) rare example of a big-screen comedy starring women over 50. It was a commercial success (it grossed more than $180 million worldwide!) and should have opened the doors for more female-centric films. But Goldie says despite the film’s success, its three stars (including fellow icons Diane Keaton and Bette Midler) took a serious pay cut.
“Even though we were all stars, [Hollywood] was nervous about the movie. For First Wives, we all took a cut in our salary, we all took a cut in our back end. Because the studios were never sanguine on trusting that women carrying a movie would actually work.”
Ugh, this is so maddening to hear. While we’d like to think progress is being made in the film industry, it’s a long, slow path to ending the gender pay gap in all industries, including Hollywood. We’re thankful to Goldie for speaking out about her experiences, and hope that by the film’s next big anniversary, the tides will have changed for the better.
