Netflix isn’t backing down.
According to Page Six, the streaming giant has responded to Mo’Nique’s recently filed lawsuit against them, saying that their offer was “fair.” A spokesperson for Netflix said 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.”
Mo’Nique announced on Thursday (Nov. 14) that she was filing a race and gender discrimination lawsuit against the company. According to Vibe, she said in a since-deleted Instagram post, “Hey, My Loves. I can confirm that today I filed a pay discrimination lawsuit against Netflix. 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 choose to stand up. I don’t have any further comment at this time, but I appreciate all of your support and love.”
TMZ reports that the Oscar-winning actress and comedienne accused Netflix of race-based discrimination as it pertains to how the company negotiated a comedy special with her. The actress also noted that Netflix offered comedienne Amy Schumer $11 million for an hour-long stand-up special, where she eventually received $13 million. Meanwhile, Mo’Nique was offered $500,000 to do a similar special.
She also claims in the lawsuit that Netflix severely lacks diversity, which contributes to their discriminatory practices. Mo’Nique included that Netflix’s former Chief Communications Officer, Jonathan Friedland, used the N-word in a meeting with 60 people back in 2018. The outlet reports that she was not present for that meeting.
Mo’Nique made it very clear that she would not be accepting their offer. Instead, she went on a public campaign, asking for fans to stand with her in a boycott against the streaming service. “I’m asking that you boycott Netflix for color bias and gender bias,” she said in an Instagram video post in January 2018. “I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, $20 million. Then Amy Schumer went back and renegotiated 2 more million dollars because she said, ‘I shouldn’t get what the men are getting, they’re legends. However, I should get more’ and Netflix agreed.”