After seven years on the CBS show
Hawaii Five-0, actors Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park are leaving due to failed salary negotiations with the network. The actors wanted equal pay with their white co-stars, but the final offer made by CBS was 10 to 15 percent lower than the salaries of co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan.
Please join in demanding that CBS renegotiate with Kim and Park and offer them non-discriminatory salaries on par with their white co-stars! This isn't an isolated incident.
Hollywood is notorious for its wage gap for people of color and women. Actors in general have a hard time making a living, but for actors of color, it's even more challenging. According to a University of Southern California
study, only 3 to 4 percent of broadcast and cable-scripted roles went to actors of Asian descent, and many of the roles were non-speaking roles. The dearth of roles for non-white actors, in turn, affects how much these actors are offered from the few roles they do get.
It's time for wage parity in Hollywood. Please sign this petition asking CBS to do its part to bridge the gap by bringing back Kim and Park's characters and offering the actors equal pay!
Photo credit: Loren Javier / Flickr