--- title: WWE Diva AJ Lee Accuses WWE of Unequal Pay and Screen Time description: A.J. Lee: "[We] receive a fraction of the wages … of the majority of the male roster" canonical: https://time.com/3721801/wwe-divas-aj-lee/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-25T12:44:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:46.504Z article:section: Sports og:title: Patricia Arquette's Oscars Speech Inspired This Female Wrestler to Speak Out og:description: Women "receive a fraction of the wages... of the majority of the male roster," A.J. Lee said og:url: https://time.com/3721801/wwe-divas-aj-lee/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ef9a3d0cfdb7dbb/698780e1428a9e4235cc7521/aj-lee-wwe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: AJ Lee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Patricia Arquette's Oscars Speech Inspired This Female Wrestler to Speak Out twitter:description: Women "receive a fraction of the wages... of the majority of the male roster," A.J. Lee said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ef9a3d0cfdb7dbb/698780e1428a9e4235cc7521/aj-lee-wwe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Patricia Arquette's Oscars Speech Inspired This Female Wrestler to Speak Out ## Video: Wage Equality Gets An Oscar Nod From Patricia Arquette [Watch (HLS stream): Wage Equality Gets An Oscar Nod From Patricia Arquette](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/g1JEbm4g.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2015-02-23. On a night where several Oscar winners advocated for causes close to their hearts, Patricia Arquette's call for wage equality drew one of the loudest rounds of applause._  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Feb 25, 2015 12:44 PM UTC  AJ Lee celebrates after winning the Divas Championship Invitational during Wrestlemania XXX at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans on Sunday, April 6, 2014\. (Jonathan Bachman—AP) AJ Lee celebrates after winning the Divas Championship Invitational during Wrestlemania XXX at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans on Sunday, April 6, 2014\. (Jonathan Bachman—AP)Jonathan Bachman—AP  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Feb 25, 2015 12:44 PM UTC Inspired by [Patricia Arquette’s Oscars speech](http://time.com/3718634/oscars-2015-patricia-arquette-feminism/) about the gender pay gap in Hollywood, prominent female wrestler A.J. Lee has spoken out against alleged inequality in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). After WWE executive Stephanie McMahon [tweeted a message of support for Best Supporting Actress winner Arquette](https://twitter.com/StephMcMahon/status/569857455787806720), Lee, who is a three-time WWE Divas champion, wrote back in a series of tweets, “Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times, and yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster.” As[_BuzzFeed notes_](http://www.buzzfeed.com/norbertobriceno/wrestler-criticizes-wwe-executive-over-unfair-pay-of-female#.pq4xJNrn), fans criticized the WWE on Twitter earlier this week for the disparity in screen time between male and female wrestlers using the hashtag [#GiveDivasAChance](http://www.buzzfeed.com/nicholaswray/give-divas-a-chance?utm%5Fterm=.tlLDkDkmd#.qf4J130W). Both McMahon and WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon (her father) acknowledged Lee’s tweets within a few hours. > [](https://twitter.com/StephMcMahon/status/570434409981194240) > [](https://twitter.com/VinceMcMahon/status/570426751618314240) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3721801/wwe-divas-aj-lee/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3721801/wwe-divas-aj-lee/"},"headline":"Patricia Arquette's Oscars Speech Inspired This Female Wrestler to Speak Out","datePublished":"2015-02-25T12:44:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:46.504Z","description":"Women \"receive a fraction of the wages... of the majority of the male roster,\" A.J. 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