Amy Schumer clarifies: she doesn’t think she deserves to be paid the same as men
The current issue of Variety has an interesting cover story: “The Fight for Equal Pay: Women, Minorities on TV Still Making Less Than White Men.” Which, if you haven’t been living under a rock, is not a surprise. The only surprise here is that this has become a much larger conversation and that people are going on the record to trade papers about the details of what they’re paid, and how egregious the inequity really is. The Variety piece is an interesting and depressing read – go here for the full piece. Within the article, Variety told this story of Amy Schumer’s Netflix special:
Amy Schumer couldn’t have been hotter as a personality when she set a deal last year to star in a comedy special for Netflix, “The Leather Special,” which premiered in March. But when Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle made headlines for commanding eye-popping deals for $20 million per special, Schumer’s team went back to Netflix and flatly asked for more money. According to a source, Schumer was initially paid about $11 million for her special. She received significantly more compensation after she raised the question of fairness relative to the Rock and Chappelle deals.
[From Variety]
It’s a good story and it makes me respect Amy for standing up for herself and what she felt she was worth, and for using comparable pay scales to make a point. When Schumer cut this deal, she was a big deal, arguably the biggest comedienne in the industry, for better or for worse. She should be paid on a comparable scale to Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. Only the takeaway for some people was “who does she think she is, she’s not as good as Rock or Chappelle!” Which is why Amy took to Instagram to post this:
Thanks for chiming in on what you feel I deserve to be paid. I believe women deserve equal pay. However I don’t believe I deserve equal pay to Chris and Dave. They are legends and 2 of the greatest comics of all time. I would like to say that I have been selling out arenas these last couple years. Something a female comic has never done. That’s a big deal to me, especially because I know I do my best every night on stage for the audience and they have a good time. I didn’t ask for the same as my friends. I did ask for more than the initial offer. I will continue to work my ass off and be the best performer I can be. The reports of me “demanding” or “insisting” on equal pay to them aren’t a true. #fat #stealsjokes
[From Amy’s Instagram]
Which makes me wonder… why the need to clarify? She was getting credit for seeking equitable pay AND she was being criticized for “not being worth it,” an argument usually made solely for women. So she plays into that idea that a woman shouldn’t be demanding or insisting on their worth, which is internalized patriarchy, quite frankly. Personally, I don’t find Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle that funny anymore, so on that level, they’re the same to me as Amy Schumer. Why not pay them all the same? Why did people get so upset with the idea that Amy might have been paid the same? And why did she feel the need to issue this clarification?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Source: Amy Schumer clarifies: she doesn’t think she deserves to be paid the same as men
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