In a recent interview with the a popular New York radio station, ‘King Richard’ actress Aunjanue Ellis, who starred as Williams, the mother of Serena and Venus Williams, gave the full story of why Will Smith gave bonuses to the main actors in November.

“He did, but I think what’s important to say about that … and I think it’s important that I say this. As I said, after you get the job, the fight is not over. You know you have to fight for equal pay and that kind of thing. I did that job, and I’m thankful for it, but I could have gotten paid better. So I told him this, and he did something about it,” Ellis explained.

“As a result of his doing, his responding to the letter that I wrote to him, not only did he address that with increasing my pay, but the other actors in the movie also got their pay increased, which is the proof of when the Black women do well, everybody does well,” the actress stated.

According to Insider, Will Smith gave personal cash bonuses to the stars of ‘King Richard’ to compensate for the HBO Max release last November.

Ellis used her radio show appearance to highlight the issue of pay inequality for Black woman actors within the Entertainment industry.

“I think it’s important that first of all, people know who this man is and what he did, and also that Black women still have to fight to get paid equally,” Ellis stated.

You can stream ‘King Richard’ on HBO Max.

Watch the official trailer for ‘King Richard’ below: