Comedian and actress Mo’Nique is suing Netflix over pay discrimination, she announced Thursday.
Mo’Nique confirmed to followers in an Instagram post that she filed a lawsuit against the streaming company.
“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,” she wrote, adding that she doesn’t have any further comment at this time.
The lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that Netflix gave the comedian a “biased, discriminatory” offer for a one-hour comedy special around November 2017, NBC News reports.
Mo’Nique was offered a $500,000 “talent fee,” which the lawsuit claims is significantly less than what Netflix offered to men and white women for similar specials, NBC reports.
“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,” Mo’Nique’s attorney wrote in the filing, according to NBC.
The lawsuit reportedly seeks unspecified damages.
A Netflix spokesperson said the company will be fighting the lawsuit.
“We care deeply about inclusion, equity, and diversity and take any accusations of discrimination very seriously,” the spokesperson said. “We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair, which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.”
Mo’Nique had previously called for fans to boycott Netflix over gender and racial bias, citing multimillion-dollar deals offered to comedians Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Amy Schumer. She also said Schumer negotiated an additional $2 million, from $11 million to $13 million.
The suit cites deals reportedly made with Chappelle for $11 million, Schumer for $13 million, Rock for $40 million, and Jerry Seinfeld for $100 million, as well as other comedians as part of the argument over the pay discrimination, according to NBC.
“Thus, Netflix reportedly offered or paid Rock, Chapelle, Degeneris, and Gervais forty (40) times more per show than it offered Mo’Nique, and it offered Schumer twenty-six (26) times more per show than Mo’Nique,” the lawsuit reportedly said
“In short, Netflix’s offer to Mo’Nique perpetuates the drastic wage gap forced upon Black women in America’s workforce.”