Claire Foy breaks her silence on being ‘paid less’ than Matt Smith on The Crown

Claire Foy has recently shared her reaction to the pay gap of her and Matt Smith on The Crown.

Speaking to The Guardian, Foy, who featured as the lead in first two seasons of royal drama, opened up about the news reports after she found out that she earned less than Smith.

“I wasn’t shocked. I was very upset,” said the 38-year-old.

She continued, “Not like, boohoo, crying upset. I was very upset. I don’t think I allowed myself to [express anger].”

“I really love my industry, and I think it is made up of lots of honourable, incredibly talented, brilliant, imaginative, amazing people,” stated Foy.

The actress pointed out, “But sometimes, you see something, you hear something, you notice something, or something happens to you, and you just go, ‘Oh God, what am I doing? Why am I doing it? Should I be part of this?’

“I found it really heartbreaking,” she added.

Recalling the pay gap scandal, Foy was “encouraged by certain people to be a spokesperson” over this issue.

“I was like, ‘Absolutely not’. I just think everybody wanted me to behave in a certain way, in response to it. And I didn’t,” she asserted.

Foy confessed, “I don’t think I should be honest about certain things about it, because I don’t think it would be helpful.”

“It would add more fuel to it. We’re still talking about this, however many years down the line. I know the extent of it,” remarked the actress.

Foy disclosed, “I still went back on the show. If anything, I just didn’t want my experience of the show and what we all did on it to be overshadowed.”

Meanwhile, Foy made a small appearance in The Crown’s fifth season.