She’s untangling herself from the web.
Kirsten Dunst revealed that she regrets not standing up for herself more after she was called a “girly-girl” while starring in the original three “Spider-Man” films opposite Tobey Maguire.
“It was a joke, but on ‘Spider-Man,’ they would call me ‘girly-girl’ sometimes on the walkie-talkie,” Dunst, 41, told Marie Claire while promoting her upcoming flick “Civil War.”
“But I never said anything … Like, don’t call me that,” she said.
Prior to the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017, Dunst explained that one of the unspoken rules in Hollywood was: “You didn’t say anything. You just took it.”
The New Jersey native appeared as Mary Jane Watson — Peter Parker’s (Maguire) love interest — in the 2002 Sam Raimi-helmed film. She later returned as the Broadway-bound actress in “Spider-Man 2” (2004) and for a final appearance in “Spider-Man 3” (2007).
According to Dunst, she never felt obligated to “capitalize off the ‘Spider-Man’ thing” and become a “movie-star-movie-star” … much unlike her “Spider-Man” character.
“That’s great for some people. It’s not the artist that I want to be,” the actress elaborated. “It was just growing up, and migrating to things that spoke to me. I always just navigated with my heart.”
Nowadays, the Oscar nominee is no longer afraid to stand up for herself.
“I don’t feel nervous,” she told the outlet. “I feel at home sharing everything on set now.”
Despite gravitating toward more indie roles, the “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” actress would be open to doing another superhero movie.
“Yes,” the Golden Globe nominee stated. “Because you get paid a lot of money, and I have two children, and I support my mother.”
This is also not the first time that Dunst has spoken out about unfair treatment during her time in the popular franchise.
In 2021, Dunst made waves when she revealed that Maguire, 48, had been paid more money than she had for all three adaptations.
“The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme,” she told the Independent. “I didn’t even think about it. But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? Spider-Man and ME.”
Dunst failed to disclose the amount she was paid, however, it was reported the “Great Gatsby” star was paid $4 million for this portrayal of the comic book hero and even managed to negotiate a salary of $17.5 million for “Spider-Man 2.”
The actress also brought up the pay disparity in 2017.
“Because I was young, I thought, ‘Oh wow, I’m getting paid a lot of money for the ‘Spider-Man’ movies,’” she stated. “But definitely the men were getting paid more.”
