Mo’Nique is suing Netflix for racial and gender discrimination.
The 51-year-old actress has filed a lawsuit against the streaming service after they offered her $500,000 for a comedy special, insisting they offered stars such as Amy Schumer, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle much more.
Her lawsuit states: ”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 suit also references the fact Amy was initially offered $11 million for her 2017 special, but received more after objecting to the fact Chris and Dave had been paid a rumoured $20 million for theirs.
It said: ”In stark contrast, when a white female comedian objected to her offer (given how much lower it was than comparable males), Netflix reconsidered and upped her offer.”
Mo’Nique also claims Netflix blacklisted her in retaliation for her previously speaking out on the subject.
The Precious star has thanked her fans for their ”support and love”.
She wrote on Instagram: ”Hi My Loves – I can confirm that today I filed a pay discrimination lawsuit against Netflix. I had a choice to make: I could accept what I felt was pay discrimination or I could stand up for those who came before me and those who will come after me. I chose to stand up. I don’t have any further comment at this time, but I appreciate all of your support and love.”
Netflix plan to fight the lawsuit.
A spokesperson said: ”We care deeply about inclusion, equity, and diversity and take any accusations of discrimination very seriously.
”We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair—which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.