X-Files star Gillian Anderson recently made the surprisingly revelation that FOX wanted to pay her half of what they offered David Duchovny for the show's upcoming revival.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Anderson said she was shocked an actress would still be offered less money than an actor in 2016.
“I’m surprised that more [interviewers] haven’t brought that up because it’s the truth,” Anderson said. “Especially in this climate of women talking about the reality of [unequal pay] in this business, I think it’s important that it gets heard and voiced. It was shocking to me, given all the work that I had done in the past to get us to be paid fairly. I worked really hard toward that and finally got somewhere with it."
Anderson is referring to the fact that she was paid less than Duchovny for the first three seasons of The X-Files even though the characters shared an equal amount of screen time. After fighting to close this wage gap, Anderson was disturbed to find herself having to have the exact same negotiation years later.
Anderson continued, “Even in interviews in the last few years, people have said to me, ‘I can’t believe that happened, how did you feel about it, that is insane.’ And my response always was, 'That was then, this is now.’ And then it happened again! I don’t even know what to say about it.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, FOX ultimately agreed to pay Anderson and Duchovny the same salary for the new X-Files episodes.
The X-Files returns on Jan. 24.