Jessica Chastain stands by Catt Sadler's choice to expose pay disparity

Jessica Chastain is supporting Catt Sadler after the TV host left her job due to alleged pay inequality.

Sadler has worked as an anchor and presenter on E! News since 2010, but on Tuesday (19Dec17) announced that she was leaving the E! Network because one of her male co-hosts, thought to be Jason Kennedy, was earning "double" her salary.

With the wage gap a continuing topic of debate in Hollywood, Chastain has thrown her support behind Sadler in a message posted on her Twitter page on Wednesday.

"WOW this is so disappointing. When are companies like @e_entertainment going to understand that women should be paid fairly. 1/2 of her male counterpart is not appropriate," the actress wrote.

Chastain, who is a long-time advocate for women's rights in the workplace, also shared a link to the full statement that Sadler posted on her personal website, The Catt Walk, explaining her decision to leave.

In her note, the TV star said that while she thoroughly enjoyed working for the entertainment broadcaster, she knew she had to exit after a colleague brought to her attention "a massive disparity in pay between my similarly situated male co-host and myself". This left her feeling like she could no longer operate with integrity if she renewed her contract.

"When E! reached out to renew and extend my deal, I learned that he wasn't just making a little more than I was. In fact, he was making close to double my salary for the past several years," the 43-year-old stated.

Though leaving her work was a difficult decision, especially as she is a single mother of two boys, Sadler shared she believed she had "an obligation to be an agent for change" and is hopeful about her prospects of working in the media in a new capacity.