LOVE Island winner Amber Davies claims she made less money than her ex Kem Cetinay, even though they were doing the same jobs.
Amber, 23, and Kem, 24, ITV2 dating series in 2017 and did jobs together after leaving the villa until their split four months later.
Now Amber has revealed that despite doing identical work to Kem, she did not receive the same remuneration.
The actress opened up about the discrimination she faced in a documentary calledStill Working 9 to 5, a film about how women still get paid less even 40 years after the famous film starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin came out.
Amber revealed: “I have experienced the pay gap. When I won Love Island, the guy I won it with and I would do jobs together and he would get paid quite a bit more than me for the same jobs.
“So then I stuck up for myself and I was like ‘You know, actually, I’m not going to do the job, you can do it by yourself’.
“So yeah, I stick up for myself.”
Amber appeared in the documentary because of her starring role in Dolly Parton’s 9 To 5: The Musical, which bagged her a six-figure sum and her career has sky-rocketed.
Her one-off ITVBe special, Amber And Dolly: 9 To 5, netted her a cool £20K and her social channels are popping off.
Although they feature just a few sponsored posts a month, by only working with carefully chosen brands she can command up to £10k each – around £240k annually.
Her £500k deal with Motel and £50k from Boux Avenue has helped her buy property, and she’s in talks for a stint on Broadway.
Despite doing well for herself, Amber realised the gender pay gap was still an issue and
She said: “Though we have made a difference and it is changing for the better, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.’
The gender pay gap still exists in the UK, with a whopping 78 per cent of the biggest companies reporting a gap in 2019.
But earning more than his ex for doing the same work does not seem to have helped Kem who was recently forced to seek help from the government after his business ran into trouble amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The former hairdresser’s two companies, Kemcet Ltd and Kemcet Holdings, filed their accounts with a note saying they’d had to apply for government cash.
Kem, 24, set up Kemcet Limited in 2017 and Kemcet Holdings, it’s parent firm, was set up in August 2019.
They made £180,000 in profits last year, and £357,860 the year before.
The TV favourite shot to fame after appearing on Love Island, securing a TV deal and becoming a brand ambassador for Primark – as well as working with several other big brands.
However, neither set of company accounts reveal exactly how they earn their money – but do report a modest £29,000 worth of pay that goes directly to Kem.
It’s likely that Kem will pay his two staff through the government’s COVID-19 business support scheme, but it’s not clear if Kem himself will get a wage from the payout.
