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Two months after Mo’Nique filed a lawsuit against Netflix for discrimination, the streaming giant is firing back in its defense.
In new court documents obtained by Baller Alert, Netflix has asked a judge to dismiss Mo’Nique’s lawsuit, in which she claimed the service discriminated against her based on her race and gender.
In the suit, Mo’Nique reportedly accused Netflix of only offering half-a-million dollars for a comedy special, while paying several million to her male and white female counterparts.
“Despite Mo’Nique’s extensive resume, when presented with an opportunity to do an exclusive stand-up comedy special for Netflix, she was given a low ball offer that was only a fraction of what Netflix paid other comedians,” she said in her suit, all while highlighting Jerry Seinfied’s $100 million deal in 2017, Dave Chapelle’s $60 million deal for three specials and Amy Schumer’s $11 million offer, which she was reportedly able to negotiate to a $13 million deal.
“When the talent was not a Black woman, Netflix offered to pay, and did pay, astronomically more than it pays to Black women like it offered to Mo’Nique,” she added, according to the Blast.
But now, in Netflix’s new motion, the service says that is not the case, adding that Mo’Nique has yet to provide evidence that her offer was a product of discrimination.
“Plaintiff fails, however, to allege any facts showing that the compensation offered her was the product of discrimination,” the suit read.
“To the contrary, her Complaint contradicts its core premise by noting that other persons of color, other women, and another African American woman (like Plaintiff) have been paid substantially more money to create comedy specials for Netflix’s streaming service than what was offered to Plaintiff. And Plaintiff fails to explain why she was entitled to be offered what the stars to whom she compares herself were offered for creating such comedy specials.”
Elsewhere, the streaming service addressed Mo’Nique’s claims of retaliation, saying, “The incurable problem with Plaintiff’s retaliation claim is that she fails to plead any facts showing that Netflix engaged in any conduct after she made her complaints.”
“Instead, Plaintiff claims only that Netflix did not unilaterally reach out to her to increase its initial offer after she called for a boycott against Netflix. A decision not to negotiate against oneself after being publicly criticized is not, and cannot be, retaliation,” the suit continued.
