Faculty of Design
Illustration
Ene Agi
Undervalued
Illustration
2020
In 2018, award-winning veteran comedian and actress, Mo’Nique, called for a Netflix boycott after she was offered $500,000 for a stand up special, compared to Amy Schumer’s $11 million (negotiated up to $13 million), Chris Rock’s $20 million, and Seinfeld’s $100 million. While refusing to negotiate, Netflix failed to explain why a comedian with Mo’Nique’s critical acclaim and experience would be offered 40 times less than the less experienced Schumer. When Mo’Nique filed a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Netflix, their attorney Crystal Nix-Hines called Mo’Nique’s “retaliation theory” “nonsensical” in their motion to dismiss her claims. Undervalued addresses the practice of grossly undervaluing the work of black women experts, in any field, and acknowledges that racism creates further disparity within “the” gender wage gap.