Sonam Kapoor says she's lost out on roles for standing up to 'ridiculous' pay gap, can 'afford to do that'

Sonam Kapoor has said that she's lost out on work because she stood up for equal pay. She said that she's 'okay' with it, because she can recognise her own 'privilege'.

Sonam Kapoor has said that she doesn't bag the roles for which she demands just pay, but she can afford to let go of certain opportunities because she's 'privileged'.

Sonam Kapoor will next be seen in Blind.

Sonam Kapoor said in an interview that she has no right to judge anybody. The actor will next be seen in Blind, a remake of a South Korean thriller, co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh.

In an interview with Vogue, the actor said, "The pay gap is ridiculous. I can stand up to it, but then I don’t get those roles, and I’m okay with that. I can afford to do that. I realised over the past two or three years that I have no right to judge anybody. I’m privileged, so making difficult choices isn’t really f**king difficult.”

Her comments come shortly after actor Taapsee Pannu said the male actors who started their careers with her make 3-5 times more money than her. Speaking to The National Bulletin, Taapsee said, “If a female actor asks more, she is termed difficult and problematic and if a man asks more it’s a mark of his success. Difference is, the men who started with me earn 3-5 times more than what I do. And the gap keeps increasing as we go in higher star category.”

Taapsee had also defended Kareena Kapoor, who was criticised online after she reportedly hiked her fee to play the titular role in an ambitious project, described as a reimagining of the Ramayana from Sita's perspective. She told Bollywood Bubble in an interview, "If it would have been a man in that position, who would have asked for a particular amount, it would have been looked upon like, 'iski market badh gayi hai (his worth has improved)'. Like that guy has really achieved big success in life. But because a woman is asking for it, she's called 'difficult', 'too demanding'. It's always like that."

Sonam was last seen in a starring role in 2019's The Zoya Factor. She appeared in a cameo in AK vs AK, in which she played a version of herself, alongside her father Anil Kapoor and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.