Two of the lead actors from the long-running Hawaii Five-0 reboot have walked the hell away from the CBS show ahead of its eighth season, with claims that a dispute over a pay disparity with their co-stars was to blame.
Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park have appeared in all 168 episodes, but Variety claim that their latest salary offer was 10%-15% less than co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan, who have also been around since the beginning.
The move is a sudden one, with the eighth season of Hawaii Five-0 about to go into production, and it means that their characters’ absences will have to be awkwardly explained away in the season premiere.
Neither actor has publicly commented on their reasons for departing, but it has been assumed that pay equality is to blame, and fans have lamented the loss of two important Asian-American characters and called on CBS to renegotiate.
Asian Am actors wanted equal pay as white actors on Hawaii Five-O. Kim & Park exiting cuz no deal. https://t.co/ohuZJoIcE0
— Nancy Wang Yuen (@nancywyuen) June 30, 2017
daniel dae kim and grace park know their worth
CBS has fucked up severely https://t.co/gzJ2JXo3nt
— cyberpunk hellokitty (@traceyfanclub) June 30, 2017
Really @CBS you “appreciate” them but can’t pay them? #equalpay #diversityinfilm https://t.co/lLKzXAvFx1
— Aurea Lara (@Aurea_Lara) July 1, 2017
The network made a statement earlier today but did not mention the pay dispute, saying only:
“We are so appreciative of Daniel and Grace’s enormous talents, professional excellence and the aloha spirit they brought to each and every one of our 168 episodes. They’ve helped us build an exciting new Hawaii Five-0, and we wish them all the best and much success in their next chapters. Mahalo and a hui hou …”
We’ll see how this one plays out.
Source: Variety.
Photo: CBS Photo Archive / Getty.
