Judge Allows Mo’Nique To Move Forward With Discrimination Lawsuit Against Netflix

Mo’Nique is not finished with Netflix just yet.

On Thursday, a California judge ruled that the comedian can move forward with her discrimination suit against the media giant after they offered her an insultingly low $500,000 for a comedy special.

When The Parkers star shot back with a counteroffer, it was declined. Her reps pleaded with the streaming company to reconsider a “racially and gender-biased offer,” asking, “What makes Mo’Nique, who has been labeled a living legend based on her awards from around the world worth $12,500,000 less than Amy Schumer to [Netflix]?” Schumer, a white comedian, negotiated her offer and got an increase of $13 million after she pointed out the higher compensation being paid to male comedians Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock.

Now, U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr. has rejected the company’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and sided with Mo’.

“Mo’Nique plausibly alleges that, after she spoke out and called her initial offer discriminatory, Netflix retaliated against her by shutting down its standard practice of negotiating in good faith that typically results in increased monetary compensation beyond the ‘opening offer’ and denying her increased compensation as a result. Accordingly, Plaintiff has sufficiently alleged that Netflix’s alleged failure to negotiate and increase her’ opening offer’ by straying from its standard practice are employment actions that are ‘reasonably likely to adversely and materially affect an employee’s… opportunity for advancement in … her career,'” Birotte Jr. ruled.

David deRubertis, the attorney that represents Mo’Nique, was satisfied with the ruling.

“Today’s ruling is an important victory for Hollywood talent who, just like all other workers, need protections against retaliation if they raise concerns about pay discrimination during the hiring process. Employers in the entertainment industry need to take pay discrimination concerns seriously, fix them if the concerns have merit, and never retaliate against those who have the courage to speak up about equal pay.”