Actress Who Played Spider-Man's Love Interest Suggests Sexism Is Why She Was Paid Less Than Tobey Maguire

By Connor Cavanaugh April 13, 2024 at 4:36am

Remember — sexism is any time a woman isn’t celebrated as much or greater than a man, regardless of the amount of work they did.

While promoting her newest film, “Civil War” — a film that will undoubtedly have major political opinions on display — actress Kirsten Dunst complained about not receiving the same amount of pay as co-star Tobey Maguire in the seminal 2002 superhero film, “Spider-Man.”

In the interview with Variety, Dunst recalled the timeline that led up to her starring in the early superhero movie, discussing how she wanted to be in the film so badly and how she screen-tested with Maguire in Berlin.

While she appears to have fond memories of the action movie, she couldn’t quite maintain that positive attitude when discussing her paycheck.

Dunst lamented how she earned a “different” amount than her male co-star did in the movie, claiming it was injustice, as she “was in ‘Bring It On’ and had a track record.”

She then went on to claim that she doesn’t pick her roles based on her pay and that she is “offered the most money on things I don’t want to do.”

The interview then continued, touching no further on the claimed pay disparity between the pair, painting it as some great injustice of Dunst being snubbed of her rightful earnings.

However, reality is nothing close to the reality she wished to portray.

Tobey Maguire also had a quite good track record, playing major roles in successful movies such as “Pleasantville” and Oscar-winning “Wonder Boys.”

Do you believe that there is a gender-based pay gap?

Of course, past that, the most obvious point is that Dunst did not play the title character of “Spider-Man” — she played Mary Jane Watson, the love interest of the web-slinger.

She also disingenuously points to the earnings that the actors made from the second movie, “Spider-Man 2,” which Maguire had reportedly negotiated to earn the higher amount she complains about.

The saddest part about the situation is that this is far from the first time Dunst has whined about not being paid as much as the lead in the movie.

She made similar comments back in 2021, whining about sexist pay practices for not receiving the same salary as her co-star.

It appears that these claims are intended to ride on the disproved “gender pay gap” theory that has been debunked more times than Spider-Man has been rebooted.

As Phil Gramm noted in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, using the common number of 84 percent to represent how much a woman makes for working the same amount as a man is misleading.

In reality, it is not for a woman who works the same amount as a man. Instead, the pay gap comes from women working less than men — a very good reason that they would be paid less.

Dunst and other female Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Lawrence love to hop onto the gender pay gap train and claim that the reason they get paid less is simply because of sexism.

These claims rely on shoddy arguments and specific examples to craft their narrative, intentionally misleading the general public.

The reality is that those who work more and are worth more get paid more. It’s very simple.

Tobey Maguire worked more on “Spider-Man.” He was the title character after all, and therefore the biggest draw.

Additionally, the role launched his stardom more than it did for the female star, explaining his ability to negotiate a higher salary for the second film.

Perhaps if Dunst spent more time negotiating a higher pay rather than complaining about not having it, the “problem” would be solved.

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