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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
    Los Angeles, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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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Spacey has been replaced by Christopher Plummer, and Scott said that the other actors agreed to reshoot “for free”.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.

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Varieties

Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.
This scene has inspired millions of fridge magnets, posters, and souvenirs -- and now the queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can take more than 20 minutes, said AFP.
Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in 10, went to the island of just 15,500 residents.
"We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism," Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos told AFP.
"There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals."
As the sun set behind the horizon in Oia, thousands raised their phones to the sky to capture the moment, followed by scattered applause.
For canny entrepreneurs, the Cycladic island's famous sunset can be a cash cow.
One company advertised more than 50 "flying dresses", which have long flowing trains, for up to 370 euros ($401), on posters around Oia for anyone who wishes to "feel like a Greek goddess" or spruce up selfies.
'Respect Oia'
But elsewhere in Oia's narrow streets, residents have put up signs urging visitors to respect their home.
"RESPECT... It's your holiday... but it's our home," read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.
Shaped by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, Santorini's landscape is "unique", the mayor said, and "should not be harmed by new infrastructure".
Around a fifth of the island is currently occupied by buildings.
At the edge of the cliff, a myriad of swimming pools and jacuzzis highlight Santorini is also a pricey destination.
In 2023, 800 cruise ships brought some 1.3 million passengers, according to the Hellenic Ports Association.
Cruise ships "do a lot of harm to the island", said Chantal Metakides, a Belgian resident of Santorini for 26 years.
"When there are eight or nine ships pumping out smoke, you can see the layer of pollution in the caldera," she said.
Cruise ship limits
In June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the possibility of capping cruise ship arrivals to Greece's most popular islands.
"I think we'll do it next year," he told Bloomberg, noting that Santorini and tourist magnet Mykonos "are clearly suffering".
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," said the pro-business conservative leader, who was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
In an AFP interview, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni echoed this sentiment and said: "We must set quotas because it's impossible for an island such as Santorini... to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time."
Local officials have set a limit of 8,000 cruise boat passengers per day from next year.
But not all local operators agree.
Antonis Pagonis, head of Santorini's hoteliers association, believes better visitor flow management is part of the solution.
"It is not possible to have (on) a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero," he said.
Pagonis also argued that most of the congestion only affects parts of the island like the capital, Fira.
In the south of the island, the volcanic sand beaches are less crowded, even though it is high season in July.
'I'm in Türkiye
The modern tourism industry has also changed visitor behavior.
"I listened (to) people making a FaceTime call with the family, saying 'I'm in Türkiye," smiled tourist guide Kostas Sakavaras.
"They think that the church over there is a mosque because yesterday they were in Türkiye."
The veteran guide said the average tourist coming to the island has changed.
"Instagram has defined the way people choose the places to visit," he said, explaining everybody wants the perfect Instagram photo to confirm their expectations.