Not surprised people thought it was odd: Foy on pay disparity

Actor Claire Foy is not surprised that the news about her getting paid less than co-star Matt Smith on "The Crown" generated such a controversy.

Foy led the star cast of the hit series on Netflix with her critically-lauded performance as Queen Elizabeth but the producers revealed that Smith, who played her on-screen husband, Prince Philip, negotiated a better pay deal.

The revelation did not go down well with the show's fans who thought Foy, being the top star, should have been compensated accordingly. Some of the fans even started an online petition urging Smith and the producers to donate the extra money to Time's Up campaign.

Reacting to the controversy, Foy, told EW, "I'm surprised because I'm at the centre of it, and anything that I'm at the centre of like that is very very odd, and feels very very out of ordinary."
"But I'm not (surprised about the interest in the story) in the sense that it was a female-led drama. I'm not surprised that people saw and went, 'Oh, that's a bit odd.' But I know that Matt feels the same that I do, that it's odd to find yourself at the centre (of a story) that you didn't particularly ask for."