Mo'Nique Suing Netflix for Racial & Gender Discrimination [FULL DETAILS]
Netflix is about to get a taste of its own medicine, and Mo'Nique is not one to back out.
The Oscar-winning comedian and actress is filing a lawsuit against Netflix for gender and racial discrimination.
According to the legal documents obtained by People, Monique Hicks accused the streaming service of offering her less for a stand-up comedy special compared to her male and white female counterparts. The 39-page lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Although Netflix has yet to release its official statement regarding the lawsuit, a spokesperson from the company talked to People and denied the allegations. The spokesperson said that the company deeply cares for equity, diversity, and inclusion -- which is why the company is taking this discrimination lawsuit seriously.
"We believe our opening offer to Mo'Nique was fair - which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit," the spokesperson said.
As stipulated in her lawsuit, Mo'Nique believes that Netflix has given her an offer than is biased and discriminatory. She claimed that the talent fee offer was at $500,000 for a special stand up comedy show in November of 2017.
The lawsuit has included several other comedians as a reference to the offer that they were given. Included in the list were Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, and Dave Chappelle. However, Mo'Nique has not specified in the lawsuit the figure she is asking for damages.
Previously, Mo'Nique has encouraged her followers to boycott Netflix over issues of unequal pay.
The lawsuit also specified that despite the extensive resume and documented history of Mo'Niques comedic success, Netflix still low balled her and made an offer that is only a fraction of the rate offered to non-black female comedians.
Specifically, the lawsuit cited Seinfeld and the $100 million deal with Netflix which included a stand-up comedy special in 2017. The lawsuit also claimed that Chappelle signed a deal worth $60 million for three stand-up comedy specials in 2016.
"The offer Netflix made to Mo'Nique perpetuates a significant gap forced upon Black women in the American workforce," as stated in the lawsuit.
Netflix is one of Hollywood's most innovative companies yet, but with the lawsuit, people cannot help but wonder if the industry it runs is aware of the discriminatory practices within. When Mo'Nique decided to file the lawsuit, she knew she was not only going against Netflix. She was challenging the status quo.
