Academy-award winning actress and comedian Mo’Nique, took to Instagram this past weekend, calling out Netflix for gender and race pay disparity, after she was offered a low sum of $500,000 for a comedy special. In an Instagram video with the caption, “#BOYCOTT#NETFLIX FOR #COLORBIAS AND #GENDERBIAS. PLEASE STAND WITH ME. I LOVE US.,” Mo’Nique explained,
“I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million; Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, $20 million. Then Amy Schumer went back and renegotiated 2 more million dollars because she said, ‘I shouldn’t get what the men are getting; they’re legends. However, I should get more,’ and Netflix agreed.”
The comedian continued on, stating the response Netflix gave her after she questioned the large pay difference, and the legitimacy of her resume. Mo’Nique then concluded her video asking fans to stand with her and boycott the streaming service for their gender and color bias.
“When we asked Netflix to explain the difference, why the money was so different, they (Netflix) said, ‘Well we believe that’s what Mo’Nique will bring.’ We said well what about my resume? They said, ‘we don’t go off of resumes.’ Then we asked them, what was it about Amy Schumer? And they said well, ‘she sold out Madison Square Garden twice and she had a big movie over the summer.’ Is that not Amy Schumer’s resume? And then Netflix said, ‘by the way, we believe Mo’Nique is a legend, too.’ Why shouldn’t I get what the legends are getting?”
Shortly after Mo’Nique’s call to action, fellow actress and comedian Wanda Sykes tweeted Mo’Nique and thanked her for speaking out and explained that she too, was offered a low deal from Netflix.
.@moworldwide, thank you for speaking out. @netflix offered me less than half of your $500k. I was offended but found another home. #EPIX
— Official Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) January 21, 2018
Mo’Nique took to Instagram again after learning that Wanda Sykes was offered only $250,000 for a comedy special, shocked that collectively, two top-tier black comedians would garner less than a million dollars. She also made it clear that it had nothing against Schumer, “if our sister (Schumer) was able to get that, then she was supposed to.”
“How is that Wanda Sykes and Mo’Nique together, these two black women who have 50-plus years in the comedy game, be offered $750,000 between the both of us and Amy Schumer get $13 million?”
