LOS ANGELES, CA — Pay inequality is a global issue, affecting women and marginalized communities for centuries. Even in 2023, the pay gap between men, women, and people of color couldn’t be more blatant, with Taraji P. Henson recently calling it out within the entertainment business.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson emotionally shared during a sit-down with Gayle King. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ Well, I have to. The math ain’t math-ing. When you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. It’s a whole team behind us. They have to get paid.”
She went on, “I’m only human. Every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate, I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did and I’m tired. I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me? If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f**k am I doing?”
Henson doesn’t stand alone, as she was immediately supported by her fellow Black screen stars, including Keke Palmer, Robin Thede and Gabrielle Union. She also isn’t the first to raise the issue, with stars like Mo’Nique, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer all voicing their frustrations with the systemic issue years prior.
While Mo’Nique spoke of gender and race-based pay inequality long before it became a hot topic, her name has re-entered the conversation following Henson’s remarks.
In a 2016 interview with Variety, the award-winner questioned the value of trophies like her Oscar when she and other Black women aren’t being paid fairly for their work.
“To ask me about a trophy is really irrelevant. It’s just a trophy. But why is there such a pay gap? If there’s a black film coming out and it’s an all-black cast, why is it that it’s a low-budget film? The offers I oftentimes receive are less than I got 11 years ago, and that’s before I won the Oscar.”
The comedian even sued Netflix for alleged gender and racial bias when it came to negotiating her stand-up salary.
“Netflix courted Mo’Nique, saw what she had to offer and made her an offer,” Mo’Nique’s attorney said via the official complaint. “But the offer Netflix made Mo’Nique wreaked of discrimination; it perpetuated the pay gap suffered by Black women.”
“Mo’Nique objected to Netflix’s discriminatory pay offer, pointed out how it was discriminatory and asked Netflix to do the right thing by negotiating fair pay with her. In response, Netflix did the opposite. It dug its heels in the ground, refused to negotiate fairly and stood behind its discriminatory offer.”
The lawsuit was eventually settled.
Viola Davis made note of the gender/race pay gap in Hollywood back in 2018, noting that while white women earn less than white men, women of color are forced to essentially fight for scraps, despite the talent and accolades that should establish their true worth.
“What they’re getting paid — which is half of what a man is getting paid — well, we get probably a tenth of what a Caucasian woman gets. And I’m No. 1 on the call sheet,” she said at the time, referring to African-American women in an interview for Women in the World.
Davis also named peers such as Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Sigourney Weaver who make significantly more than she does, despite them all having similar backgrounds and resumés.
“I got the Oscar, I got the Emmy, I got the two Tonys. I’ve done Broadway, I’ve done Off Broadway, I’ve done TV, I’ve done film. I’ve done all of it,” she said. “And yet, I am nowhere near them, not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities. Nowhere close to it. People say, ‘You’re a Black Meryl Streep. You are. And we love you. We love you. There is no one like you.’ OK, then if there’s no one like me, if you think I’m that, you pay me what I’m worth. You give me what I’m worth.”
The thespian would go on to also receive a Grammy in 2023, making her an official EGOT winner.
Angela Bassett addressed the pay gap between men and women in entertainment in 2018 with Elle.com.
“It’s upsetting. It’s ridiculous. It makes no sense whatsoever,” Bassett told the publication of unequal pay between men and women in Hollywood. “It says that the male is more important, is more valuable, and that’s not so. That’s not true. The work is important. Women, we work just as hard, and long hours as well. We don’t get shorter hours. And I think it’s just a standard that’s been upheld. For what reason, I don’t know. I’m glad that we’re breaking through that, at least in this town.” Octavia Spencer has spoken out multiple times regarding pay inequality in Hollywood. She revealed in 2019 that LeBron James had to intervene during her salary negotiations for Madam C.J., — which James executive produced — in order for her to receive a fair check, noting the importance of men advocating for what is right regarding their female counterparts.
She shared a similar lesson when she revealed Jessica Chastain helped get her paid five times more than originally quoted on a project they were starring in together after the pair had a conversation about the racial inequality in Hollywood.
“I think my goal is to make sure that all women of color get equal pay, and all women get equal pay,” Spencer said. “The only way to do it is to have these conversations, to talk numbers with your costars. Jessica and I stood together, and that was interesting that she would take that position — well, I mean, she is Jessica Chastain — but we also need advocates and allies in negotiating.”
