At the Golden Globes, Debra Messing wasn’t afraid to talk about the gender pay gap — because she saw an opportunity for one outlet to make a difference.
The “Will & Grace” actress put her mouth where the money wasn’t on the red carpet Sunday, calling out E! during an E! interview about host Catt Sadler’s recent departure from the entertainment network after failing to hammer out a contract.
“We want diversity, we want intersectional gender parity, we want equal pay,” Messing told E! on the carpet. “I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I mean, I miss Catt Sadler. We stand with her and that’s something that can change tomorrow.”
Sadler blamed her departure from “E! News” last month on a “massive pay disparity” between her and male “E! News” anchor Jason Kennedy.
At contract-renewal time, Sadler said, “My team and I asked for what I know I deserve and were denied repeatedly.”
Later, Messing said she wasn’t nervous to talk about the issue, even though she didn’t think her interviewers really responded to her.
“What they did [in the Sadler situation] was egregious,” she said. “I wanted to bring it up because this could be rectified tomorrow if they so chose.”
E! previously said in a statement that it “compensates employees fairly and appropriately based on their roles, regardless of gender. We appreciate Catt Sadler’s many contributions at E! News and wish her all the best following her decision to leave the network.”
Sadler wrote on her blog that she had wanted to stay at her job but said her decision was made for her.
Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.
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