Bradley Cooper Pledges to Negotiate Pay with His Female Co-Stars from Now On

This is what a feminist looks like. Photo: Getty

Bradley Cooper is ready to be the change he wants to see when it comes to gender inequality. Last week, the actor commented on his former American Hustle costar Jennifer Lawrence’s piece for Lenny, in which she airs her frustrations about getting paid less than her male costars for that film. At the time, Cooper hadn’t read the article but seemed quite supportive of the idea that women should be paid what they’re worth.

It’s easy to say you’re in support of pay inequality, but it’s another thing to actively combat it. Cooper says he’s ready to put his money where his mouth is, promising to work with female costars in negotiating salaries before whatever project they’re working on goes into production.

“I don’t know where it’s changing otherwise but that’s something that I could do,” Cooper told Reuters. “Usually you don’t talk about the financial stuff, you have people. But you know what? It’s time to start doing that.”

Cooper’s pledge may seem a bit paternalistic to some, but the fact of the matter is that gender inequality cannot be a one-sided fight. It’s important for men to support women on this issue in meaningful ways that go beyond words. Last year, Emma Watson garnered a lot of praise for her HeForShe speech, which implored men to join women in pursuit of gender parity, noting that the patriarchal structure is also oppressive to men, as it puts pressure on men to live up to its harmful, unrealistic standards. “Gender equality is your issue too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society despite my needing his presence, as a child, as much as my mother’s,” she said. “I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear it would make them less of a men—or less of a man… I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either.”

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