Mark Wahlberg Donates $1.5 Million for 'Time’s Up' Campaign

Mark Wahlberg arrives for at a film premiere on June 18, 2017 in central London. Hannah McKay / Reuters
Mark Wahlberg arrives for at a film premiere on June 18, 2017 in central London. Hannah McKay / Reuters
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Mark Wahlberg Donates $1.5 Million for 'Time’s Up' Campaign

Mark Wahlberg arrives for at a film premiere on June 18, 2017 in central London. Hannah McKay / Reuters
Mark Wahlberg arrives for at a film premiere on June 18, 2017 in central London. Hannah McKay / Reuters

American actor Mark Wahlberg announced he would donate $1.5 million - the money he earned for reshooting a part of the “All the Money in the World” movie- to a fund that legally defends women, after reports said that his colleague Michelle Williams, who partook in the same movie, received less than $1000 for the reshooting.

On his Twitter account, Wahlberg said: “Over the last few days my reshoot fee for 'All the Money in the World' has become an important topic of conversation," I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I'm donating the $1.5 million to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams' name," he added.

Director Ridley Scott resumed the shooting of the movie in November, one month before its show, after its star Kevin Spacey faced sexual misconduct allegations.

Spacey has been replaced by Christopher Plummer, and Scott said that the other actors agreed to reshoot “for free”.

However, the USA Today newspaper revealed that Wahlberg, in fact, got $1.5 million to re-shoot his scenes in 10 days, while Williams earned only $80 a day.

It is worth noting that both Williams and Wahlberg are represented by the same acting agency, William Morris Endeavor (WME), which also agreed to donate $500,000 to the Time’s UP legal defense fund.

The company said in a statement: “the reports highlighting wage discrepancies are a "reminder" for officials who should shoulder their responsibilities in fighting inequalities, including the gender-based wages gap. It is important that these efforts continue within our community, and we are committed to being part of the solution."

Commenting on the announcement, Williams applauded the reports talking about Wahlberg’s donation.

In a statement published by the US media, including the Deadline website, Williams said: “Today isn’t about me. My fellow actresses stood by me and stood up for me, my activist friends taught me to use my voice, and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted,”

“If we truly envision an equal world, it takes equal effort and sacrifice. Today is one of the most indelible days of my life because of Mark Wahlberg, WME and a community of women and men who share in this accomplishment,” she added. Referring to the actor who first accused actor Kevin Spacey of misconduct, she said: “Anthony Rapp, for all the shoulders you stood on, now we stand on yours.”

The “Time’s Up” campaign was founded this month by over 300 women working in the fields of cinema, television and theater. Legal funding will be provided to persons who have been harassed or sexually abused in workplace.



Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

 Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

 Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.