The Sexism Is Out There: Gillian Anderson Slams All-Male Team For 'The X-Files'

This could be a case for Mulder and Scully, and for Fox's continuing revival of The X-Files. Being a huge part of the sci-fi circuit since its inception in 1993, the show about aliens and abnormalities made household names of its stars David Duchovny and #GillianAnderson. With the latter going on to have a career resurgence thanks to roles in Hannibal and American Gods, as well as tipping herself to play James Bond, Anderson is one of Hollywood's leading ladies.

This is a man's world.

However, it now seems that the fiery female powerhouse is anything but impressed with her current situation on the #TheXFiles. The 48-year-old, who has only just got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has called out a male-lead industry while asking for more recognition for the fairer sex. When a fan of The X-Files took to Twitter to question the show's men-only writer's room ahead of Season 11, Anderson used it as a platform to vent her frustrations:

Running for nearly a decade, it is a shocking statistic to think that only two episodes were directed by women. However, in a practice that is still common today, are we really surprised? Ironically, Anderson herself directed one of the episodes for Season 7's "All Things," while Breaking Bad's Michelle MacLaren tackled Season 9's "John Doe." Sadly, Anderson's protests will probably fall on deaf ears, and if anything, things seem to be getting worse for the show's equality. Although Season 10 of the show had an all-male team writing its six episodes, story credits were given to Anne Simon and Margaret Fearon.

While there are certainly more roles for women behind the scenes than there used to be, it is strange to think that Season 11 of the show still contains a testosterone-packed writer's room. Series creator, Chris Carter, will once again team with The X-Files veterans like Glen Morgan, Darin Morgan, and James Wong, as well as newcomers Gabe Rotter, Benjamin Van Allen, and Brad Follmer. Given that Anderson's Dana Scully is such a strong women, perhaps she has fears that a group of men won't do her character justice next season.

This isn't the first time Anderson has called out the show: When the show was renewed after a decade off our screens, the actress revealed that it took three seasons before her pay was matched to Duchovny's. Even when the show was revived last year, Anderson reported that she was originally offered half of what her male co-star would be paid. Given that Scully is both a sex symbol and one of the best-drawn female characters out there, don't expect Anderson to take this one lying down!