Michelle Williams issues incredible response to Mark Wahlberg's $1.5 million donation to Time's Up

Acclaimed director Ridley Scott's most recent film, All The Money In The World, came out at Christmas last year. It was an incredible feat given the film always had the December 25 release date, but when sexual assault allegations came out against Kevin Spacey – who played one of the key characters – the filmmakers boldly decided to do a last-minute reshoot. They recast the role with Christopher Plummer and incredibly managed to reshoot everything in November in time for the release date.

The film went on to be nominated for three Golden Globes, including Best Director for Scott, Best Supporting Actor for Plummer and Best Actress for Michelle Williams. However, the film recently came into a heated discussion over the fact that Williams, who was also required to attend the November reshoots, was paid less than 1 per cent of what her co-star, Mark Wahlberg, was getting for those extra days.

It was reported by CNBC that "Michelle Williams was paid $80 per diem totalling less than $1,000" while Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million. The incredible difference in salary left many people outraged and pointing to the huge inequality in the gender pay gap.

In response to it all, yesterday Wahlberg announced that he would be donating all the money he made from the reshoots of the film to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund in Williams' name.

"Over the last few days my reshoot fee for All the Money in the World has become an important topic of conversation," Wahlberg said in the statement. "I 100 per cent support the fight for fair pay."

Many people applauded the Ted actor's move of donating the money to the legal fund of the Time's Up movement, which according to the website "provides subsidized legal support to those who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in the workplace". And now, Williams' has spoken out about Wahlberg's donation.

"Today isn’t about me," she said in a statement:

"My fellow actresses stood by me and stood up for me, my activist friends taught me to use my voice, and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted. If we truly envision an equal world, it takes equal effort and sacrifice.

"Today is one of the most indelible days of my life because of Mark Wahlberg, WME and a community of women and men who share in this accomplishment. Anthony Rapp, for all the shoulders you stood on, now we stand on yours."

Credit: TriStar

Williams called it an "indelible" moment and emphasised the fact that the gesture was not about her, but about a greater movement. She also saluted Anthony Rapp, who was one of the first people to make allegations against Spacey.

In addition to Wahlberg's $1.5 million, WME, the agency that represents Wahlberg, Williams and Ridley Scott, agreed to pledge an additional $500,000 to Time's Up. The company made a statement about the conversation on the gender pay gap, saying it's "a reminder that those of us in a position of influence have a responsibility to challenge inequities, including the gender wage gap."

"It's crucial that this conversation continues within our community and we are committed to being part of the solution," WME added.