“The Black Hamptons” star Elise Neal adds her voice to those of the many Black actresses speaking out about the pay disparities they experience in Hollywood. She said at some point it got so bad that she had to walk away from two television shows because the offer was beneath what she believed her value was.
In an Instagram Live, Neal shared her thoughts on the inequity in the field conversation recently re-introduced into the headlines by Taraji P. Henson during the promo for her new film, “The Color Purple.”
Neal, who once was the lead on the sitcom “All of Us” on the CW Network, said that she would need more than one video to talk about the issues of Black women in her industry and unequal pay.
“I would love it if we all got paid equal,” she said, adding the stark reality, “It’s still not happening. We want it to happen. We hope it’s going to be better.”
According to the 57-year-old, she tries to negotiate as much as she can in a contract but “at the end of the day,” it is about what people are offering her. She even explained when she was in the prime of her career, between 2004 and 2008, she was receiving a lot of offers for work, but the money was not right.
“Back in that heyday spot … I was booking a lot of things,” she recalled. “And there was I’d say at least two TV shows that the money wasn’t looking good.”
She said she spoke to her team (her manager, agent, and lawyer), but they could not get them to budge and pay her more.
“I did walk away from a couple of TV shows that did not pay me what I wanted to pay and we had fought to get I’ve tried my best,” she explained.
Many on social media chimed in.
One person said, “In business, you don’t always get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate,” while another wrote, “Can’t feel bad for anyone that makes in 1 role what ppl make in a year lol.”
The comments also brought up that this is true in all professions and is not a new conversation.
“MoniqueWas just talking about this a few years ago and nobody was saying s—t,” one comment said, reminding people of the other Black female celebrities who spoke out and received backlash.
Actresses Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union, and Mo’Nique have all used their platforms to bring awareness to the pay inequity for Black women.
Davis, who is an EGOT and has achieved the triple crown of acting, the third person to achieve both distinctions, addressed this during the 2018 Women in the World panel.
“I have a career that’s probably comparable to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver, they all came out of Yale…Juliard…NYU. They had the same path as me and yet,I am nowhere near them not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities,” said Davis, adding, “People say, ‘You’re a Black Meryl Streep.’.. Pay me what I’m worth. You give me what I’m worth.”
Mo’Nique complained in 2017 that Neflix systematically underpays Black women after the streaming network offered her $500,000 for a comedy special but paid eight-figure sums to comedians like Amy Schumer, Dave Chapppelle, and Chris Rock. After she followed up by suing the streaming network, she says her acting gigs came to a halt. Rapper 50 Cent later stepped up and gave her a lifeline, casting her in his “BMF” series. Netflix and Mo’Nique settled the lawsuit in June 2022, and the company gave her a special, presumably for compensation she found acceptable.
Union, who has been talking for years about how she has helped other Black women get bigger checks, said in 2019 that she once turned down a job because the studio tried to use her to underpay another actress.
“It was never my job to begin with but I’m going to make sure she gets paid,” she said, adding she also told other Black actresses similar in type to turn it down too in an act of solidarity.
The “Perfect Find” actress also is finding humor in this issue. On the day after Christmas, in solidarity with Henson’s recent comments, she released a parody that spoofed all the things Black actresses and producers in Hollywood have to do to win. This included joking that she will be working until she is ready to kick the bucket, saying its something that they all must do.
