Actress Zoe Saldana has spoken out about the sexism she has faced in Hollywood.

The 37-year old star of hits includingAvatar and Guardians of the Galaxywas promoting her new film, Infinitely Polar Bear, when she revealed that a producer once told her that he had hired her for the way she held a gun while wearing panties, not for her opinions.

Saldana appeared in the 2011 film Columbiana holding two guns while in her underwear.

Speaking about the incident she said, “I wish I’d recorded it so I could play it for every girl in elementary school and tell them never to let anybody treat them that way.”
Saldana has become increasingly vocal in her support for gender equality.

In June, she defended her husband Marco Perego’s decision to take her last name, writing on Facebook: “Fathers, sons, brothers, men everywhere: your legacy will not perish if you take your partner’s surname, or she keeps yours.

“I felt proud that my husband decided to take my last name as his own… and I his.” Saldana also called on men to “redefine masculinity”, urging them to accept their mortality and to acknowledge that nothing can be achieved alone.

Saldana has previously highlighted the issue ofchildcare in the film industry, arguing that studios should pay for the costs.

Speaking to USA Today earlier this year, she said, “We need men to understand this is an issue that affects women.

“It’s not a women’s issue. It’s a family issue.

“It affects the whole household.”

Saldana’s statement comes as a new report highlights the gender pay gap impacting women in Hollywood.

According to Variety, the highest paid male actor, Robert Downey Jr., earned $80m last year, while the highest paid female actor, Jennifer Lawrence, made $52m.

Saldana has been busy promoting Infinitely Polar Bear, a film in which she plays a mother of two who is trying to keep her family together whilst dealing with her husband’s mental health issues.

The film was directed by Maya Forbes, who drew on her own experiences of growing up with a bipolar father.

Saldana has previously spoken out about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, and in June she joined the #IAmWithLuvvie hashtag campaign to highlight the need for greater representation of people of colour in the media.

In addition to her successful film career, Saldana is also a co-founder of the digital media company, Bese, which aims to create content for the Latino community.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Saldana spoke about the importance of her mixed-race background: “I am just as black as I am Latina… I’m proud of it and I don’t think I need to explain or defend it to anybody.

“I don’t want to have to prove anything. I just want to be me.”

Saldana’s latest film, Infinitely Polar Bear, is released in the UK on 4 September.
Saldana is not the only actress to have spoken out about sexism in Hollywood.

Earlier this year, Patricia Arquette used her Oscars acceptance speech to call for wage equality, while Jennifer Lawrence recently wrote an essay criticising the gender pay gap.

The issue of gender pay inequality has become increasingly prominent in the media recently, with many high-profile women speaking out about the issue.

A recent study by the World Economic Forum estimated that it will take another 118 years to close the gender pay gap.