“Lord of the Rings” star Cate Blanchett described herself as "middle class" while speaking at a United Nations event at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in France, despite being a multimillionaire, prompting backlash from fans on social media.
Blanchett appeared at the U.N. press conference at Cannes on Monday, and was asked about her work as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador giving a platform to refugee filmmakers. Her response was recorded in a video posted on TikTok by the Associated Press.
“I’m white, I’m privileged, I’m middle class, and I think, you know, one can be accused of having a bit of a white savior complex, but to be perfectly honest, my interaction with the refugees in the field and also in resettled environments has totally changed my perspective on the world,” she said.
The Australian Oscar winner went on to say she was "utterly grateful" for the experience, and suggested other famous figures should engage in "dialogue with these people."
“I’ve met some extraordinary people with extraordinary creative talents and amazing perspective,” Blanchett said.
The comments reveal that viewers were shocked by her "middle class" claim, with many noting she is estimated to be worth some $95 million.
“all this is very wonderful and very cool but can we back up and unpack ‘MIDDLE CLASS’ rq [real quick]??!” one commenter wrote.
“Under no circumstances is a net worth of $95 million middle class!!!” another commented.
A few people defended her remarks, noting that she moves in circles that include billionaires, or even other actors with net worths in the hundreds of millions.
The Pew Research Center, a think tank and prolific national surveyor in the U.S., defines a "middle class" income as between two-thirds and twice the national median income. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2022, the most recent year for which data are available, was $74,580, a decline of 2.3% from $76,330 in 2021. Using that metric, a middle class income for a U.S. household in 2022 would have been between $49,720 and $149,160.
—TMX contributed to this report.