Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park leave Hawaii Five-O over unequal pay
Last week, Kim and Park announced they would be leaving the show after the network refused to pay them as much as their white co-stars.
Much like NCIS or Criminal Minds, Hawaii Five-O is one of those long-running network shows that’s hard to determine who watches. All we know is a lot of people are watching.
Which makes sense, because the CBS series is headed quietly into its eighth season, as strong as ever, but that hold on ratings may not be for long with news that stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park have left the show after an equal pay dispute.
Last week, Kim and Park announced they would be leaving the show after the network refused to pay them as much as their white co-stars, Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin. CBS’s final offer to the Asian actors was reportedly “10-15 per cent lower” than their white co-stars’ salaries.
The network released the following statement on the matter on Wednesday: “Daniel and Grace have been important and valued members of Hawaii Five-0 for seven seasons. We did not want to lose them and tried very hard to keep them with offers for large and significant salary increases. While we could not reach an agreement, we part ways with tremendous respect for their talents on screen, as well as their roles as ambassadors for the show off screen, and with hopes to work with them again in the near future.”
If we read between the lines, what that means is that the network offered Kim and Park more money than they were already making, but still not on par with Caan and O’Laughlin.
The diverse cast has been a core part of the series since it began in 2010, with Kim heading into it with pretty hefty fanfare post-Lost. Not to mention, the series is set in Hawaii, where 57.4 per cent of residents claim some Asian heritage, according to the U.S. Census, via Variety. So it makes sense that half the cast is Asian, but what doesn’t is that their salaries don’t share that equal footing.
It’s also not as simple as reducing this to a matter of screen-time. Kim and Park have considerable fan followings when it comes to the show, and have been long-running cast-members, despite the fact that they are No. 3 and 4 on the series call-sheet.
Comparatively, earlier this year, The Big Bang Theory’s five original cast members, including Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg, banded together to acquire equal pay for co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch, by agreeing to each take a pay cut of $100,000 per episode so that their co-stars could make a little more per episode. And just last year, Shameless’s Emmy Rossum fought for equal pay to co-star William H. Macy and got it.
Caan and O’Laughlin did not make a similar gesture and have not commented on the issue.
In a Facebook post, Kim addressed his departure from the series: “By now many of you have heard the news, and I’m sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week. Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue. As sad as it feels to say goodbye, what I feel most is gratitude.”
After thanking the series’ fans, Kim subtly addressed the pay dispute: “I’ll end by saying that though transitions can be difficult, I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture. The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am.”
CBS has a reputation for often featuring majority white casts. Earlier this summer, the network came under fire after revealing its upcoming fall schedule, which features six new shows all starring white men. In response to the backlash, entertainment president Glenn Geller insisted that the 2016-2017 lineup is “more diverse” than the previous year (which doesn’t help the network’s case in the least), adding, “Look, we need to do better, and we know it.”
Let’s hope so, because this dispute itself comes at a time when the need for diversity in Hollywood — and that not so little matter of whitewashing — is louder than ever. It’s one thing to have a mission statement after getting called out, it’s a whole other thing to follow through.
Article Source: http://nationalpost.com/entertainment/television/daniel-dae-kim-and-grace-park-leave-hawaii-five-o-over-unequal-pay/wcm/eed93e08-ffd2-4825-b73f-0e4b4a5c8b2f
Image Source: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/vector-gold-scale-coines-banknotes-23530835.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Dispute (n.) ~ a disagreement, argument, or debate
2. On par (n.) ~ an equality in value or standing a level of equality
3. Fanfare (n.) ~ media attention or elaborate ceremony
4. Footing (n.) ~ the basis on which something is established or operates
5. Whitewashing (n./ informal) ~ refer to the entertainment industry's attempt at making ethnic characters more appealing to the white, money-spending masses by making exotic characters less ethnic and more "white"
6. Call out (n./ informal) ~ to announce to someone that one knows the other's lies or intentions
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Do you know the TV show Hawaii Five-O? Have you ever seen it?
2. As an Asian, how do you feel about the racial discrimination that some Asian actors and actresses experience in Hollywood?
3. If you would have the opportunity to work abroad, would you take it even if it means that you could experience discrimination. Explain your answer.
