- Mo’Nique and Netflix are said to have settled their racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit.
- Terms of the settlement were not disclosed when they filed for the case’s dismissal.
- The company has yet to comment on the matter, and the law firm defending them has also declined to comment.
Mo’Nique and Netflix are said to have settled their racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit after the streaming provider allegedly made her a lowball offer for a proposed comedy special.
According to Michael Parks, an attorney for Mo’Nique in the lawsuit, the matter has been “amicably handled.”
The terms of the settlement between the streaming giant and the comedian and Oscar winner were not disclosed when they jointly filed for the case’s dismissal in a Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday.
Netflix has yet to react to a request for comment, and the law firm that is defending the corporation in the lawsuit has also declined to comment.
According to Mo’Nique’s lawsuit, Netflix executives praised her work before offering her $500,000 for a comedy special in early 2018 and refusing to negotiate further. Her suit claimed that this was due to the company’s history of underpaying Black women.
Netflix, on the other hand, was allegedly eager to negotiate with other comedians and has made deals worth tens of millions of dollars for comedy specials from Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Dave Chappelle, and Ricky Gervais, according to the lawsuit.
In a statement issued at the time, Netflix denied the principal allegations of the suit, which was launched in November 2019.
“We care deeply about inclusion, equity, and diversity and take any accusations of discrimination very seriously,” Netflix said then. “We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair – which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.”
The suit alleged that Netflix violated California’s fair employment and civil rights laws and is representative of the major pay inequity in all employment for Black women.
“I had a choice to make,” Mo’Nique said in a post on her Instagram account after the filing. “I could accept what I felt was pay discrimination or I could stand up for those who came before me and those who will come after me. I chose to stand up.”
