Hilary Swank Shares Unbelievable Personal Stories About the Gender Pay Gap in Hollywood

On this Wednesday's episode of Chelsea Handler's "Chelsea," the host invites director Ava DuVernay, actresses Hilary Swank and Connie Britton and Miss USA Deshauna Barber for an all-female dinner party in which participants get candid about what they've faced as women in the entertainment industry.

Swank, in particular, shares an unforgettable stories about pay inequity in Hollywood.

The actress reveals that she passed on a film after discovering she was offered twenty times less than her co-star, despite being a two-time Academy Award winner compared to the “hot” male lead. 

The "Million Dollar Baby" star explains that she was paid a mere $3,000 for her work in 1999's "Boys Don't Cry," a movie that would win her an Oscar. But because her pay for the movie was so low, she did not meet the minimum amount required to qualify for health insurance.

DuVernay, who received a Golden Globe nod for her work on Selma, shares what it was like to take on the $20 million film knowing six male directors had passed before she was offered the job.

The episode will be available on Netflix later today (Thursday 20 Oct).