Though she makes her living through laughter, comedian and actress Mo’Nique doesn’t think Netflix’s alleged bias treatment of her is funny. Now she’s taking to the courts to prove her worth. The Oscar-winning entertainer sued the streaming giant last Thursday for racial and gender discrimination, reported NBC News.
The lawsuit alleges “Netflix’s treatment of Mo’Nique began with a discriminatory low-ball offer and ended with a blacklisting act of retaliation.” It further contends that Netflix “perpetuated the pay gap suffered by Black women” – an argument supported by comedian Wanda Sykes when she thanked Monique for shedding light on the issue. Sykes said she walked away from an even lower offer by Netflix.
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The lawsuit gave specific examples of men and white women who received significantly higher offers for their comedy specials than Mo’Nique. The lawsuit details that Mo’Nique was offered $500,000 for her special, but Netflix paid Amy Schumer $13 million, Ellen DeGeneres $20 million, Dave Chapelle $approx. $20 million per show and Eddie Murphy $70 million, among others.
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“Despite Mo’Nique’s extensive résumé and documented history of comedic success, when Netflix presented her with an offer of employment for an exclusive stand-up comedy special, Netflix made a lowball offer that was only a fraction of what Netflix paid other (non-Black female) comedians,” the lawsuit states.
Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the lawsuit comes almost two years after Monique initially complained about being discriminated against by Netflix in January 2018. In a video posted to her social media accounts, Mo’Nique asked her fans to stand with her in boycotting Netflix for “gender bias and color bias.”
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A spokesperson from Netflix told The Hollywood Reporter (THR) its offer to Mo’Nique was fair and they will defend themselves accordingly.
“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,” Netflix said.
