Amy Schumer To Netflix: I Am Worth Just As Much As Dave Chappelle Or Chris Rock
Amy Schumer asked Netflix for more money for one of her comedy specials after learning what the streaming service offered Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock for their specials.
The news came about in a report from Variety on the wage gap between minorities, women, and white men on TV. As Variety reports:
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.
The news has resulted in divided opinions, with some in support of Schumer and others arguing that the difference in pay between the three comedians is not a gender issue but a talent and higher ranking issue.
"White women earn more than black men but Amy Schumer really pointed the finger at Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. SMH. We're always the enemy," one person posted on Twitter.
"I'm truly cackling at the audacity of Amy Schumer thinking she deserved the same pay as Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle like GIRL WHUT," wrote another.
Ultimately, this news brings to mind a comment Rock made last year in a profile on comedian Leslie Jones, in which he said:
Black women have the hardest gig in show business. You hear Jennifer Lawrence complaining about getting paid less because she's a woman — if she was Black, she'd really have something to complain about.
Granted, the quote was in reference to black women in Hollywood but Schumer equating herself to two minorities who have been a part of comedy for so long so much so that they can have a residency at Radio City Music Hall shows a lack of awareness that is problematic.
UPDATE: Amy Schumer responded to the controversy. Read her reply here.
Source: variety.com