Emma Stone on Battle of the Sexes’ Parallels to Trump’s Election: It’s ‘Fascinating and Horrifying’

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Battle of the Sexes tells the story of Billie Jean King’s legendary 1973 triumph on the tennis court over Bobby Riggs, a loud, brash man who baited King into a match that drummed up publicity by playing on sexism. And in Out magazine’s cover interview with Emma Stone, Billie Jean King, and Stone’s Battle of the Sexes co-star Andrea Riseborough, Stone says she was well aware of the movie’s chilling parallels to the 2016 election. “We began shooting in the spring of 2016, when there was still a lot of hope in the air, and it was very interesting to see this guy — this narcissistic, self-focused, constantly-stirring-the-pot kind of guy — against this incredible, qualified woman, and at the same time be playing Billie Jean, with Steve [Carell] playing Bobby Riggs,” Stone said. “Obviously the way this has all panned out has been fascinating and horrifying, and it still feels like we’re in a bad dream, but those parallels make sense to me — the equal-pay issue makes a lot of sense to me. At our best right now we’re making 80 cents to the dollar.”

Stone also details conversations asking unnamed male co-stars to agree to pay cuts so they are paid equally — “That’s something they do for me because they feel it’s what’s right and fair” — and how this small parity can influence her career trajectory. “So much of [box office returns, billing] changes your pay throughout your career, so I go more to the blanket issue that women, in general, are making four fifths at best.” King pauses to interject: “White women,” the star athlete reminds. “If you’re African American or Hispanic it goes down, and then Asian Americans make 90 cents to the dollar.”