Oscar winner actress Gwyneth Paltrow has publicly criticised the pay gap between men and women in the film industry.

“Your salary is a way to quantify what you’re worth. If men are being paid a lot more for doing the same thing, it feels shitty."

She made the unusual move by specifically calling out her Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Jr. "Look, nobody is worth the money that Robert Downey Jr. is worth. But if I told you the disparity, you would probably be surprised,” the Goop founder told Variety.

Robert Downey Jr has topped Forbes’s list of highest paid actors of 2015 for the third year running, raking in $80 million (£52 million) dollars in the last year.

He made million $28 million (£18 million) more than Jennifer Lawrance who topped the women’s list at $52 million (£34 million), despite the starlet appearing as a lead in more films than her male counterpart.

She adds her voice to the chorus of women across the industry making a stand, including Patricia Arquette and Sienna Miller who turned down a role due to unequal pay.

“It's shitty men are paid more for doing the same thing” Gwyneth Paltrow speaks out on the gender pay gap