*Late last year, Mo’Nique filed a lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streaming giant of discrimination.
Mo believes she was slighted by the company after she was offered pennies for a comedy special, which she turned down. She says Netflix offered comedian Amy Schumer $11 million for an hour-long stand-up special (she eventually got $13 mil), but only offered Mo’Nique $500,000 for a special.
Netflix responded to Mo’s lawsuit in a statement: “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.”
But now, they’ve taken their grievances to court.
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According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Netflix has formally asked the courts to dismiss Mo’Nique’s lawsuit.
“Plaintiff fails, however, to allege any facts showing that the compensation offered her was the product of discrimination. To the contrary, her Complaint contradicts its core premise by noting that other persons of color, other women, and another African- American woman (like Plaintiff) have been paid substantially more money to create comedy specials for Netflix’s streaming service than what was offered to Plaintiff. And Plaintiff fails to explain why she was entitled to be offered what the stars to whom she compares herself were offered for creating such comedy specials.”
Mo’Nique’s lawsuit stated, “When the talent was not a Black woman, Netflix offered to pay, and did pay, astronomically more than it pays to Black women like it offered to Mo’Nique…In short, Netflix’s offer to Mo’Nique perpetuates the drastic page gap forced upon Black women in America’s workforce.”
Mo also noted evidence of Netflix’s biases, specifically when former Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Friedland used the n-word twice during company meetings. Accused rapist and alleged pedophile Kevin Spacey reportedly did the same while filming “House of Cards.”
Mo’Nique cited a major pay gap on the Netflix hit, “The Crown,” to illustrate alleged discrimination. She says the actress who plays Queen Elizabeth II was paid $14k per episode less than the actor who played Prince Philip — and the company only righted the wrong after there was a public outcry about it.
Mo’Nique is suing Netflix for unspecified damages, and for an injunction forcing the company to change its discriminatory policies.
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