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‘Heartbreaking’: Danielle Brooks Says She Made Less Than the Kid Actors on ‘Stranger Things’ and Regrets It

Recognizing and claiming your worth.

It’s something that Danielle Brooks said she should’ve done when her Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” was still on, where she played the role of Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson.

Danielle Brooks said she regrets not standing up for herself and asking for more money when she played on the show “Orange is the new Black.” (Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images)

At one point, when Brooks was still on the show, she learned that the children who make up the main cast of “Stranger Things,” also on Netflix, were paid more than she was.

“When you come to find out the ‘Stranger Things’ kids are making more than you are in your final season, that’s heartbreaking,” Brooks told CNBC. “A part of me feels like it’s a little bit my fault, because I should have fought more. I should have put my foot down.”

“As a woman, I wish I would have stood by what numbers I wanted from jobs and not fluctuated,” Brooks added.

Reports, such as those from Deadline, show the lead kid actors on “Stranger Things” made in the neighborhood of $200,000 per episode in the show’s third season.

Brooks didn’t mention how much she earned during her final years on the show, but in 2019 she confirmed that her earnings on the early end of the first season were just under $1,000 per episode — an amount that swelled to $5,000 per episode during that same first season.

These days, Brooks has no problem standing up for herself to request the money that she desires. She also talked about the importance of living within her means and not how someone thinks a famous entertainer is supposed to live.

Brooks, who gave birth to her daughter Freeya Carel Gellin in November 2019, also revealed that she’s bought a house in Brooklyn, New York, and gotten engaged.

The actress said that she and her fiancé have regular talks about their finances, and she wants to set a solid example about money for their daughter.

“Orange is the New Black” was on from 2013 to 2019.

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