Laura Dern, Debra Messing and Eva Longoria all called out E! for pay inequality on its own red carpet coverage of the Golden Globes today.
Earlier this year, longtime host Catt Sadler said goodbye to her “dream job” at E! News after discovering that a male counterpart had been paid significantly more than she was for years – and the network refused to match it.
“Information is supposed to be power, and when my team began negotiations [on my new contract] knowing what we knew, that was the barometer in which I expected to be paid, based on the law and based on what I know to be fair.”
But, according to Sadler, “not only did they refuse to pay me as much as my male counterpart, but they didn’t come close – nowhere close, not even remotely close.”
And with the unofficial theme of today’s awards being about fighting gender and racial inequality (almost everyone wore black in solidarity with Time’s Up, and several stars brought activists as their dates), it was fitting for several actresses to use their live interview time to call E! out.
“I was shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female cohosts the same as their male cohosts,” said Messing to E! host Giuliana Rancic. “I miss Catt Sadler. We stand with her. And that’s something that can change tomorrow – we want people to start having this conversation that women are just as valuable as men.”
Here’s @DebraMessing being the MESSINGEST (compliment!) calling out E! for the @IAmCattSadler equal pay disaster on the #ERedCarpet. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/h8ZLuawyOg
— Kate Aurthur (@KateAurthur) January 7, 2018
“We need the powers that be and all the industries and networks and E! to help us with closing this pay gender gap,” Dern told E! host Ryan Seacrest, standing next to her date for the evening, activist Monica Ramirez. “50/50 by 2020.”
“We support gender equity and equal pay and we hope E! follows that lead with Catt as well,” said Eva Longoria, who was standing alongside Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. “We stand with you Catt.”
https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/950169846674853890
Sarah Jessica Parker told Seacrest that she knows pay inequality has “affected your network,” adding that “parity, equality and safe work environments shouldn’t be controversial. And it’s across all industries.”
Debra Messing just said on E! that she was sad to hear that E! doesn’t pay their female co-hosts the same as their male cohosts. I fucking love this guns blazing awards show, let’s do this every time. #GoldenGlobes
— Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright) January 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/midtownkeery/status/950142123344629760
https://twitter.com/AbbeyLiz13/status/950142448956829696
It’s not clear if this is why the celebs called out the network, but Amy Schumer encouraged anyone walking the red carpet to put E! on the spot.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdqAye5F5rS/?hl=en&taken-by=amyschumer
Seacrest and Rancic didn’t respond to these comments other than a vague “Mmm-hmm” and an uncanny ability to move the conversation along at light speed. Hey, they are professionals, after all.
