Social Media Abuzz After Patricia Arquette Delivers Oscars Speech On Wage Equality
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) – A day after Patricia Arquette used her Oscars acceptance speech to stand up for wage equality, women in Hollywood and elsewhere are reacting.
"It's our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America," said Arquette during Sunday night's Academy Awards.
The response to the best-supporting-actress winner's plea was immediate from Meryl Streep's standing ovation to the thousands who took to Twitter, including stars like Lena Dunham to Elizabeth Banks.
Arquette was the third most talked about subject on social media behind Lady Gaga and Neil Patrick Harris after delivering her speech.
"I work in a long-term nursing facility and women and men that get hired on at the exact same time they make different wages," Karen Hagen, a working mom from Illinois, said.
Mary Murphy with the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism said: "Patricia Arquette was saying the truth. Women in Hollywood, like women in St. Louis, Missouri, are being paid less than men."
"Now we know this because we saw the figures coming out of Sony during the hacking scandal. We saw that Jennifer Lawrence was being paid less money," Murphy said.
According to White House figures, women on average make 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men.
"I thought what she had to say was absolutely so true and so right on the mark," said Jenifer Noland, a tourist.
In Hollywood on Monday, women applauded Arquette's message.
"This is the time to say it. When else would you do it? That's the big platform. Everybody's watching. Millions of viewers," said Rhonda Wilson, another tourist.
But there has been backlash, as well.
Critics say Arquette prioritized the rights of white women over lesbians and women of color during comments in the press room.
She was heard saying: "And it's time for all the women in America and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we've all fought for to fight for us now."
Arquette has since responded to the criticism via Twitter stating:
