Matt Smith urged to donate pay disparity to Time's Up

Los Angeles, March 19 (IANS) A petition has surfaced urging "The Crown" actor Matt Smith to take action after he was paid more for his role as Prince Philip than actress Claire Foy.

The petition has urged the actor to donate the extra salary he received for the Netflix drama to the Time's Up Legal Defence Fund, reports hollywoodreporter.com. 

At a conference in Israel, the producers of the series said that Foy earned less than Smith for the first two seasons of the Netflix hit. 

Foy played Queen Elizabeth in the drama from showrunner Peter Morgan, Sony Pictures Television Studios and Left Bank and earned a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Emmy nomination, among other accolades, for the part. 

"Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen," said Left Bank creative director and executive producer Suzanne Mackie. 

The Care2 Petition urges Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Smith to "show that they stand with women and do the right thing", while asking the actor and Netflix to donate the difference in Smith's pay to the Time's Up Legal Defence Fund.

"The Crown" drive -- which was near 22,000 signatures of its goal of 25,000 -- comes two months after a similar petition urged actor Mark Wahlberg to donate the $1.5 million more that he made during re-shoots for "All the Money in the World" after news broke that his co-star Michelle Williams, received $1,000 for the same work.