Last year’s breakout star Tiffany Haddish is cutting through the nonsense when it comes to talking about gender pay parity in Hollywood, and has some words of wisdom to share.
The “Night School” comedian is pointing the finger squarely at women for not speaking up when it comes to making the same money as men.
“I think the reason why, a lot times, we don’t get paid the same as men do is because we don’t talk about it,” Haddish says as part of Variety‘s Power Of Women feature which features interviews with industry influencers.
Now that she’s made a name for herself following the huge success of “Girls Night”, Haddish isn’t afraid to put in a little research and find out what her male co-stars are getting paid — or what kind of money she can ask for as an in-demand actor.
“I think we do need to talk about it because I sure get in there and I’m like, ‘Hey, Kate Hudson. How much do they pay you for that? What kind of perks do you get for that?’ I didn’t know they could fill your room up with whatever kind of food you want,” she reveals. “That’s why I done gained so much weight, because she told me about all the food you can get. I’m like, you can bring me some tacos and I want an In-N-Out burger.”
She continues: “A lot of times we don’t open our mouths because we don’t even really know what we’re supposed to get. So, that’s why I do the research. I ask around. I’ve made friends with line producers that cut those checks, production managers, so I can be like, ‘So, on average, how much does a girl get paid for? How much does a guy get paid?’ OK, I’m gonna ask for the guy fee on this one.”
Something else Haddish has learned in the last year is that big acting awards don’t come with a cash prize. After winning the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series for her hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live”, Haddish’s “Girls Trip” co-star and friend Jada Pinkett-Smith had to break the news that the win wasn’t accompanied with a cheque.
“I’ve been watching sports and NASCAR, horse races, championships, football games, they get a trophy, a ring, and a bonus cheque. But when you win an Emmy, they give you a gift bag of a bunch of things that you probably not going to really use. I like the trophy a lot, don’t get me wrong, but they could have put a cheque in there!” she exclaims. “Jada broke it down to me and she said that it’s a big honour because that means your colleagues, the people that work in your same field, voted for you, and they like what you’re doing.”
Though acting awards are a sign of recognition from her peers, Haddish says she’s more interested in taking care of the people close to her — which requires money.
“I care about being able to take care of my grandma, take care of my mama, my niece, my sister, and brother, and if I ever have children take care of them, create some generational wealth,” she explains. “And I think the only way to do that is to have some money so you can buy some land and things like that, and then buy a studio. Yeah, I need cheques! I don’t think anybody’s obligated to give me anything.”
