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The Crown's Matt Smith urged to donate salary difference to Time's Up after Claire Foy pay gap revealed

Action urged: A petition has been launched to try encourage Matt Smith to donate the difference in salary to Time's Up: Robert Viglasky / Netflix
Action urged: A petition has been launched to try encourage Matt Smith to donate the difference in salary to Time's Up: Robert Viglasky / Netflix

A petition has been launched calling on Matt Smith to donate part of his fee for The Crown to the Time’s Up movement.

The Netflix show recently came under fire after it was revealed that Smith – who played Prince Philip – was paid more than Claire Foy, who played The Queen.

The former Doctor Who lead has been asked to “make up for the sexist pay gap” and gift the difference between his and Foy's pay packets to the Time’s Up Legal Defence Fund.

The Care2 petition reads: “Women in all industries are facing a struggle for pay equality. Women in the US are typically earn 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts for full time work.

The Crown divide: It recently emerged that Matt Smith was paid more for the Netflix drama than Claire Foy (PA )
The Crown divide: It recently emerged that Matt Smith was paid more for the Netflix drama than Claire Foy (PA )

“While it may be easy for some to dismiss gender pay disparity for already high-paid actors like Claire Foy, I believe that publically addressing high-profile cases of sexism will also help create greater opportunities for all women — in all careers.”

It finishes: “This is critical moment for Netflix and Crown co-star Matt Smith to show that they stand with women and do the right thing.”

Mark Wahlberg was recently the target of a similar petition which called on him to pledge his million pound salary from the reshoot of All the Money in the World to the cause.

The Hollywood star was paid again after director Ridley Scott took the decision to reshoot a lot of the film with Christopher Plummer instead of Kevin Spacey in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations levelled against him.

Wahlberg later posted on his social media account that he “100% supports the fight for far pay” and was donating his pay-check to the fund in Michelle Williams’ name.