Jessica Chastain opened up about the sexual harassment scandals in Hollywood and revealed that she feared speaking out about them would jeopardize her career.
“As an actor, I have a lot of fear, thinking that if I speak my mind, or something that feels like it deviates from the norm as a woman, am I going to be made to disappear in my industry? When the article came out about [Harvey] Weinstein, I immediately started tweeting,” the Golden Globe nominee, 40, told The New York Times in a profile of the movie mogul published on Monday, December 11. Weinstein, 65, came under fire in October after the newspaper published an exposé detailing more than 30 years of sexual harassment allegations against him.
“I’ve got a good group of girlfriends on WhatsApp and I said, ‘I’m really terrified I’m destroying my career right now. I wonder if people will still see me as an actress and want to work with [me] knowing I have these opinions,’” the Oscar-nominated star said.
Chastain explained that her close-knit social circle calmed her fears and reassured her that speaking out against the harassment would not have a detrimental impact on her career. “In the way that only good girlfriends can do, they helped me eliminate fear and understand that the only way to change something that’s wrong is to change it, not ignore it,” she continued. “And rather than saying it’s an industry-wide issue, it’s more than that. It’s a society wide issue. We can’t ignore farmworkers or women who have been invisible.”
The Molly’s Game actress, who has used her platform to staunchly support victims of sexual misconduct, applauded her colleagues who have spoken out against their alleged abusers. “It really is a new world. We’ve been since birth in a society that makes us feel like we’re easily replaceable, that we need to be grateful for any work and grateful for what we have,” she said. “But what that does is limit our acknowledgement of the power we have, especially when we work together. It’s like what Margaret Mead said: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.’ And that’s what we’re doing.”
Chastain has spoken out in the past about significant issues in Hollywood, specifically gender inequality. “I’m not taking jobs anymore where I’m getting paid a quarter of what the male costar is being paid,” she told Variety in April, demanding the same recognition that her male costars are afforded. “I’m not allowing that in my life. What I do now, when I’m taking on a film, I always ask about the fairness of pay. I ask what they’re offering me in comparison to the guy. I don’t care about how much I get paid; I’m in an industry where we’re overcompensated for the work we do. But I don’t want to be on a set where I’m doing the same work as someone else and they’re getting five times what I’m getting.”
