As an offshoot of the #MeToo movement, #TimesUp, gains momentum, a key component of this new movement has been advocating for the gender pay disparity in Hollywood.
This has been even more of a discussion after it was revealed that Michelle Williams only got $625,000 for reshoots of All The Money in the World, when her co-star, Mark Wahlberg, received $5 million. Also, Ellen Pompeo recently revealed how she had to fight during previous negotiations at Grey’s Anatomy when former co-star, Patrick Dempsey was viewed as the catch.
Now, in a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, titled, ‘Sharing Salaries: How Actresses Are Fighting Hollywood’s Gender Pay Disparity With Transparency,’ we are learning some behind-the-scenes intel at black-ish, which was revealed at a recent #TimesUp meeting.
“According to a source who attended, the Wahlberg-Williams discrepancy was discussed at length, as was Tracee Ellis Ross getting paid significantly less than her Black-ish co-star Anthony Anderson.
With negotiations for the fifth season ongoing, sources say Ellis Ross feels that if she isn’t brought up to Anderson’s level, she may opt to appear in fewer episodes to make up the disparity by guesting on another show. The tactic has split opinions within Time’s Up, with some worried that it’s more a retreat than a forward-looking solution (fitting in extra work isn’t always feasible, and often an actress wouldn’t earn as much guesting as she would as a network star). A network source says a new deal will significantly increase her compensation and cautioned that Anderson and Ellis Ross’ roles aren’t equal given that he has been attached to Black-ish from the start and is an executive producer. Still, until a few weeks ago, this type of candid conversation would never have taken place outside an actress’ agency.”
Ross and Anderson have starred on the ABC sitcom since its inception in 2014. Both have been nominated for multiple Emmys and Golden Globes for their work on the show, with Ellis winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017.