At a UN Women panel event about film, Salma Hayek talked about the sexism she has faced at work, The Telegraph reported.
"I've had movies where the director really wanted me, but the dude didn't approve and I've got pipped out," the newspaper quoted her as saying.
Hayek added that she has "agreed to take part in films thanks to witty, intelligent lines for her character, only to find them dumbed down when she got on set so as not to outshine the lead man."
Speaking of the current situation for actresses, Hayek said: "Our pay can never go up because we never get the opportunity to show what we can bring in revenue. Cinema undermines women's intelligence. It has been doing it for some time now. They don't see us as a powerful economic force, which is really incredible ignorance."
And she went on to say: "They think the only value we bring to a movie is as an object. The only kind of film where women make more money than men is porno. It's not funny."