Priyanka Chopra Jonas: ‘Citadel was the first time I ever received pay parity’
Priyanka Chopra Jonas says her role in Citadel – reported to be the second most expensive show ever made – was the first time she ever received pay parity with a male co-star.
The 42-year-old actress, who is one of India’s highest-paid stars, is currently shooting the show’s second season here in the UK, opposite Scottish star Richard Madden.
Richard Madden with Chopra Jonas. Pic: Amazon Studios
Taking a day away from filming, and speaking about the show, Chopra Jonas admitted: “I have to say that it was the first time in my career that I received pay parity. It was not something I even thought was possible.
“Did it happen because the head of the studio was female? Maybe”.
Chopra Jonas, who founded her own production company, Purple Pebble Pictures, in 2015, began her rise to fame after winning Miss World 24 years ago.
She was speaking to head of Amazon Studios Jen Salke at Trailblazers, a Prime Video event to celebrate women both on and off-screen.
The first season of Citadel is understood to have cost around $300m (£225m), but failed to thrill critics, with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of just 51%.
Getting a second season nonetheless, the next chapter is due out next year.
Produced by the Russo Brothers – who are best known for their work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Chopra Jonas plays spy agent Nadia Sinh, opposite Madden’s spy agent Mason Kane.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Pic: Amazon Studios
Chopra Jonas sent Amazon boss images of ‘bloody faces’
Describing the demands of the role, Salke said Chopra Jonas is “willing to do every stunt,” sometimes “falling down” and messaging her with images of “bloody faces” due to the physical nature of the role.
Opening up about her ambition to be more than a romantic lead, Chopra Jonas said: “For me, it was very different, you know, daring to say that I wanted to be able, as an Indian actor, to play leads in commercial entertainment and English language entertainment.”
“When I started doing this, 10 or 12 years ago, very few people had done it, and still there are very few people who are continuing to do so.”
A rarity for a big-budget screener production, Citadel is not based on existing intellectual property.
In a conceptual first, it also has local language spin-offs set in other countries, with Italy-set Citadel: Diana streaming globally from next week and Indian-based Citadel: Honey Bunny, streaming the following month.
Salke described the innovative approach as “internationalising and localising at the same time”.
Speaking about her role as a mother to her two-year-old daughter Malti, who she shares with husband Joe Jonas, Chopra Jonas said it was sometimes a challenge to balance life with the demands of work.
Pic: Amazon Studios
‘I learnt not to self-sabotage’
She said: “As women, we generally tend to think about how, when we have to put ourselves first, we think about everybody else that it’s going to affect before we even think about ourselves. It can be really scary to do something when the path has not been paved many times before.”
She also admitted she taught herself not to always focus on “all the stuff that can go wrong, all the hurdles, [and not to think] ‘what will make it the most embarrassing, horrible decision you’ve ever made?'”
She went on: “I had to learn to not do that because that is so self-sabotaging.”
Speaking about the shows it’s released this year, Prime Video said over 50% of its global greenlights are from women in front of or behind the camera.
Chopra Jonas also revealed she’s set to star in the upcoming action-comedy film, Heads Of State, also starring John Cena and Idris Elba.
Shot in the South of France, and again playing an action role, Chopra Jonas called it “a great, fun ride”.
Led by Russian-born director Ilya Naishuller, the movie is due out next summer.
Citadel 2 will be released next year.
World
Arrest warrants issued for Israeli PM Netanyahu and former defence secretary Gallant and senior Hamas commander over alleged war crimes
Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence secretary Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas commander by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The warrants against the senior Israeli figures are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks. It is unclear if he is still alive, following an airstrike that Israel claimed killed him earlier this year.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas”.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
The new UK Labour government said in the summer it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN general assembly. Pic: Reuters
Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
Netanyahu previously spoke of his “disgust” at the suggestion the ICC would seek an arrest warrant for him.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
“The court has minimised how Hamas fights – deliberately from within civilian infrastructure and cruelly using Palestinian civilians as human shields, tragically leading to many casualties,” the board said.
“Democratic governments, and people around the world, should consider how they would have responded to an October 7th perpetrated against their country, involving mass murder, rape, and hostage-taking.
“We should all be focused on defeating the Hamas terrorists, liberating the hostages, ensuring that civilians in Gaza receive all necessary aid and working towards a sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians to prevent these horrible conflicts in the future.
“The decision of the ICC is counter-productive in all these respects.”
Read more:
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A video released by Hamas in 2005 shows a man identified as Mohammed Deif. Pic: AP
Warrant for Hamas leader
The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
The home secretary has refused to say if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he landed on British soil after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence secretary Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
But Yvette Cooper said the ICC, which the UK is a member of, is independent and while the government respects that, it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment” on the processes involved.
She told Sky News: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.
“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”
However, Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.
“Not really a question of should, we are required to because we are members of the ICC.”
The government said after winning July’s election it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
An ICC arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks in Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel claims Al Masri was killed earlier this year but the ICC said that has not been confirmed, so it was issuing the arrest warrant.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant (right) have arrest warrants against them. File pic: Reuters
Netanyahu’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary and he would guarantee the arrest warrant would “not be observed”.
However, both France and Italy signalled they would arrest Netanyahu if he came to their countries.
Read more:
What satellite images tell us about North Gaza
Hamas ready for Gaza ceasefire ‘immediately’
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Why have arrest warrants been issued?
The ICC originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and on Thursday announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
It is the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
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