Rachel True From "The Craft" Called Out Pay Disparities For Women Of Color In Hollywood, And It's Frustrating
If you're a true '90s fan, you know Rachel True from The Craft and Half Baked.
On March 20, she posted a series of X posts regarding pay disparities in Hollywood, and it was really eye-opening.
Age, race, and gender pay gaps are widespread across most industries. But as it's known how much money goes into filmmaking, the conversation around how actors are paid, especially when they're not white men, has been a necessary hot topic.
Rachel posted, "On my acting gigs I got paid about 1/2 what my anglo peers did, but tell me again about' meritocracy' lol," alongside a gif from the 1996 movie The Craft, which also starred Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, and Robin Tunney.
Rachel portrayed Rochelle Zimmerman, one of the four teenagers who discover their power as witches.
In a follow-up X post, Rachel wrote, "I was # 1 on the call sheet every wk on Half & Half & got paid 1/2 what Anglo peers got paid. Obvs Black Americans are underpaid in lots of fields Cause mericrapocy."
Rachel starred in the TV show Half & Half from 2002 - 2006 alongside Essence Atkins, Tela Hopkins, and Valarie Pettiford.
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When people suggested that perhaps it was because she wasn't a lead character, she responded, "& For those saying I wasn't a lead on the Craft I'm on the poster & you're not. Suck it up."
When an X user asked Rachel if things would be different if the movie were made now, she responded, "Before this admin maybe. Social media changed a lot. But now, nope. On the craft the money people told my agents Take it or leave it we have another black girl we can cast. Btw They fucking didnt."
Many actors like Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, and Zoe Saladaña have addressed their concerns over pay disparities for actors who are not white men.
In 2023, Taraji P. Henson opened up about the realities of working in Hollywood as a Black woman and the challenges she faced fighting for equal pay. "I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost," she said. "I'm tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired."
"I hear people go, 'You work a lot.' Well, I have to. The math ain't math-ing. When you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don't do this alone. It's a whole team behind us. They have to get paid."
What do you think about Rachel's claims? Let me know your thoughts!
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