Netflix is being sued for racial and gender discrimination

The lawsuit says Netflix is ‘plagued by a lack of racial diversity’


A lawsuit has been filed against Netflix, alleging it discriminated against the black female actress Mo’Nique.

Monique Angela Hicks, known as Mo’Nique, is accusing the platform of racial and gender discrimination after she was offered lower pay than other actors for a comedy special.

She says she was offered $500,ooo for an hour-long stand-up comedy special show two years ago, while multi-million dollar deals were signed with other comedians, including: Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Ellen DeGeneres.

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via Instagram @therealmoworldwide

The lawsuit says: “The terms of Netflix’s offer to Mo’Nique were discriminatory based on her gender and race/colour. The offer tried to perpetuate the drastic pay gap experience by black women.

“Indeed, Netflix simply refused to engage in any negotiation and presented its offer on ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ terms.

“Netflix has maintained a corporate culture – reaching the highest levels of senior leadership – that has been insensitive to black workers.

“Relatedly, the company has been plagued by a lack of racial diversity within senior leadership, as well as across the organisation.”

A spokesperson for Netflix told CNN: “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.”

Yesterday, Mo’Nique posted a photo on Instagram which reads: “Hi 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 chose to stand up. I don’t have any further comment at this time, but I appreciate all of your support and love.”

The post was captioned: “LAWSUIT AGAINST NETFLIX!!!! I LOVE US 4 REAL!!”

In January 2018, Mo’Nique also called for her fans to boycott Netflix over the alleged offer.

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