Despite having a career that spans over two decades, Priyanka Chopra Jonas claims that her upcoming Amazon Prime series, ‘Citadel,’ is the first time she has received equal pay with a male co-star. Chopra will be sharing the screen with Richard Madden, and the series is scheduled to debut next month.
During a keynote conversation with Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival, Chopra Jonas discussed her upcoming action spy thriller series for the streaming platform.
“I’ve been working in the entertainment industry for now 22 years and I have done about almost 70-plus features,” she said. “I’ve done two TV shows. But when I did ‘Citadel,’ it was the first time in my career that I had pay parity with my male co-actor. The first time in 22 years. And I wonder that did that happen?”
The star further continued, “It’s kind of nuts, I put in the same amount of service time I put in the same amount of investment and work but I get paid much less. So, I want to talk a little bit about issues that women have in entertainment, the glass ceilings that we have to work much harder to break, whether it’s something as real as your salary, whether it’s something as real as decision making, having women in front of the camera and behind the camera and in high positions.”
Salke comments on the pay parity
Chopra Jonas wondered why it required a woman like Salke in a high-level position to achieve pay parity. Salke said, “There was just no question to me that that was the absolute right thing to do. Whether that would have happened or not had I’ve been there I can’t speak to that. I have great male and female allies who are at our company who’ve been working for me and with me, who know now to make space and to stop and think and do the gut check. I see that happening, I see that change and I find it really encouraging and inspiring.”
The upcoming series “Citadel” marks the beginning of a franchise that will encompass additional companion shows produced in local markets around the world. Chopra then told the crowd how she’s been waiting for this kind of opportunity all her life.
“I always wanted to be part of English language entertainment, but I just never saw the Hindi language medium translating,” she added. But then “streamers came in and people from across the world are watching entertainment from across the world. I’ve watched Iranian shows I’ve watched Korean shows. I’ve watched shows from around the world. Italian shows. French. The acceptance of being able to watch entertainment with subtitles is such a joy for me.”
‘Citadel’ will be available to stream on Amazon prime video from April 28, 2023.