All over the internet, I've seen headlines like these:
Now the first thing you may be thinking is: "what did Jeremy Renner say that was so offensive?" Well, in order to truly understand a story, one must look beyond the headlines.
In an interview with Business Insider, Renner was questioned on the topic of how women in Hollywood (and in general) are often paid less than men for the same jobs. Here is the exact blurb from Business Insider that is causing the controversy:
Business Insider asked Jeremy Renner, who also starred in "American Hustle," if he would also be willing to negotiate alongside his female co-stars on future projects. He also was paid more than Adams and Lawrence for his role in the film, according to a Sony email leaked during the hack on the company.
"That's not my job," Renner said, while taking part in an intimate press day on Tuesday for the new "One Life/Live Them" campaign he's doing for Rémy Martin Cognac. "I don't know contracts and money and all that sort of stuff," Renner went on to say. Adding he fully supports actresses receiving equal pay as actors, he said he's more focused on his craft than what everyone is making.
"I'm a performer and I know human behavior. When it comes to that sort of stuff I let other people deal with that," said the two-time Oscar nominee. "I do what I'm good at, that's what I focus on."
It should be noted that actors and actresses are rarely involved in the negotiating process and leave the deals to agents, managers, and lawyers.
The headline of the piece is: "Jeremy Renner, who starred in 'American Hustle' with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, says it's 'not my job' to help female co-stars negotiate higher salaries." A long headline indeed, but it certainly does reflect the piece's subject matter...right? Actually, no, it doesn't.
When Jeremy Renner said "that's not my job," he was referring to the job of deciding how much actors should get paid. He's referring to the "contracts and money,"which he feels that he doesn't have enough knowledge of to actively support equal pay. For many to imply that he said such a blunt statement like "not my job" in regards to supporting equality for women based on the headline alone is simply irresponsible.
According to the piece itself, Renner actually supports the idea that women should receive equal pay for the same job. He's just more interested in focusing on his career instead of actively participating in a campaign that he feels he isn't fit to support. Perhaps he doesn't have the time for participating in these campaigns, or perhaps he would rather focus on other things in his life.
It's not like Renner doesn't care about helping any important causes either; he has donated his time to several charities in the past. Just to prove this, here is a list of charities he has given to according to the website Look to the Stars:
- American Foundation for AIDS Research
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- DonorsChoose.org
- Entertainment Industry Foundation
- Exceptional Minds
- Feeding America
- Got Your 6
- Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation
- Sherry Lansing Foundation
- Stand Up To Cancer
- The Lourdes Foundation
- UNICEF
He also participated in Soccer Aid, a British charity event where celebrities play soccer to support the children's charity UNICEF.
.Complaining that Jeremy Renner isn't interested in womens' rights is like complaining that someone who spends all of their time in a soup kitchen doesn't care about police brutality. Renner isn't going to become a gung-ho activist for equal pay, but that certainly doesn't mean he isn't all for it.
When it comes to sensitive subjects, there are three kinds of people in the world:
1. The trolls who want to offend people.
2. The overly-PC crowd who wants to be offended.
and the one that is often overshadowed on the internet:
3. The people who give calm and honest opinions.
The media is subtly portraying Renner as a member of the first category while twisting his words to enrage the second category. In all honesty though, Renner truly belongs to the third category. He simply wanted to be honest, and the media warped his words to knee-jerk reactions of anger from feminists.
Look, we all know how upsetting the situation is with equal pay for women. Real, hard-working women are being mistreated by clueless executives and not getting the appreciation they deserve. At the same time though, it is important to respect the opinions of others who would rather partake in other activities. Like Renner said, there are many people fighting for equal pay, but that doesn't mean that we should expect every single person to just drop what they're doing and go actively support it. Our time on this Earth is limited, and we have the right to spend it how we want to. The same certainly goes for Jeremy Renner.
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