Mo'Nique's gender and racial bias lawsuit against Netflix is going forward

Actor, comedian, and late night host Mo’Nique is taking her fight against the streaming giant Netflix to the next level, thanks to a ruling by a federal judge. The judge that Netflix has failed in its second attempt to have a suit alleging racial and gender bias thrown out of court after it was filed by the Oscar-winning star of Precious last November. The suit claims that the streaming service, which frequently produces its own shows and specials, offered Mo’Nique a stand up special at a price so low that it was not only demeaning but illegal. When Mo’Nique objected, Netflix refused the standard practice of negotiation.The comedian claims that the company initially offered her $500,000 to do the show. At first glance that seems like a whole lot of cash — until you catch wind of what Netflix offered comedians like Ellen DeGeneres, Dave Chappelle, Amy Schumer and Ricky Gervais to do the exact same kind of work. Think: millions. Tens of them, reports Deadline. Mo’Nique decided to turn down the offer and take a stand against pay discrimination instead.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

LAWSUIT AGAINST NETFLIX!!!! I LOVE US 4 REAL!!

A post shared by Mo'nique (@therealmoworldwide) on Nov 14, 2019 at 10:55am PST

“Netflix’s business practice of paying Black women less than non-Black women for substantially equal or similar work causes harm to Plaintiff that outweighs any reason Netflix may have for doing so,” reads her official complaint filed last November.[video_embed id='1977581']RELATED: How parents and educators can help fight systemic racism[/video_embed]Women continue to be paid 80 cents for every dollar that men make but 2019 data about the U.S. pay gap faced by Black women shows that in general, they can expect to make only 61 cents for every dollar a white male colleague is paid. Essentially, they face a pay gap that’s doubled by racial and gender discrimination.Mo’Nique also claims that after she argued that the offer was discriminatory, Netflix took retaliatory action that damaged her career. The judge responsible for this most recent ruling agreed.“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,” he wrote in his decision. “While Netflix argues that the novelty of Mo’Nique’s claim and the absence of on-point legal authority for it should bar her retaliation claims outright, the Court disagrees.”[video_embed id='1996241']BEFORE YOU GO: British Vogue EIC says he was racially profiled at work[/video_embed]