Tiny Fey has spoken out about the gender pay gap in comedy, arguing that women do “amazing work for less”.
The 30 Rock creator said she strongly disagreed with people who say it’s a “amazing time for women in comedy” in an interview with Town & Country magazine.
“Amy [Poehler] and I just did two months of press for Sisters, and journalists were still bringing up, ‘People say women aren’t funny’,” she said.
Every single interviewer asked, ‘Isn’t this an amazing time for women in comedy?’ People really wanted us to be openly grateful – ‘Thank you so much!’ – and we were like, ‘No, it’s a terrible time. If you were to really look at it, the boys are still getting more money for a lot of garbage, while the ladies are hustling and doing amazing work for less.'”
PressFey also addressed the lack of roles for older women in Hollywood.
Speaking of the derogatory remarks Carrie Fisher’s received online about her appearance following her role in the latest Star Wars movie, Fey said: “I thought it was heartbreaking, and also smart of Carrie to be, like, ‘This hurts,’ because a lot of times we talk about the politics of it, the unfairness of it, which is all true, but I think it’s clearer to people when you go, ‘Hey, that hurts my feelings.’”
Fey added: ”The greatest challenge for me as an actress is just getting older,” she says. “Trying to play the scene at hand while also trying to hold your face up. Fast-forward to being 68, and it’s a glorious act of bravery.”
Fey plays a war reporter in upcoming dark comedy film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, out on April 22. Watch a trailer below.