Tell Em, Sis: Nia Long Blasts Industry Men For ‘Getting Rich’ Off Of Her Name
#MeToo and #TimesUp in Hollywood are usually references to sexual assault and harassment, but they’re also broadening their horizons to include general workplace treatment and the gender pay gap for films.
Mo'Nique perhaps most famously initiated the latter conversation during an interview with The Breakfast Club in February of 2017, and since, more and more women in Hollywood have been describing how they’ve been paid a lot less than their male counterparts even if they are in a leading role.
Nia Long is the latest to stake claim to this. During a recent Hollywood Foreign Press Association event, she was asked whether she believes things have gotten better in Hollywood when it comes to pay for women. Her answer: nah.
“I have watched a lot of men get rich off of the films that I’ve done, and I was being paid peanuts” she told the Associated Press. “And when I requested or wanted more, I was considered difficult, outspoken, entitled and all of the things that should not be used to describe a woman who has earned her space, her place and delivers.”
Most recently, Long has assumed roles in both television and movies, including appearances on Empire, Dear White People, NCIS: Los Angeles and in Keanu, Lemon and Roxanne Roxanne.
The AP also asked similar questions about the Hollywood pay gap to Lena Waithe and Laura Linney. See everyone’s responses below.