Amy Schumer has cleared up some controversy about her salary renegotiation with Netflix.
Earlier this week, Variety published a story about gender pay inequality in Hollywood titled, The Fight for Equal Pay: Women, Minorities on TV Still Making Less Than White Men.
The article mentioned a deal that Schumer had with Netflix and stated that she had asked for more money once she learned what Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle were paid for their standup specials on the streaming service.
READ MORE: Amy Schumer spotted in the audience of a ‘Judge Judy’ episode
Schumer addressed the issue on Instagram, where she posted a photo of herself appearing to be topless and hiding behind a dog wearing a hot dog costume.
“Thanks for chiming in on what you feel I deserve to be paid. I believe women deserve equal pay. However I don’t believe I deserve equal pay to Chris and Dave,” the post began.
Schumer continued, “That’s a big deal to me, especially because I know I do my best every night on stage for the audience and they have a good time.”
“I didn’t ask for the same as my friends. I did ask for more than the initial offer,” Schumer noted. “I will continue to work my ass off and be the best performer I can be. The reports of me ‘demanding’ or ‘insisting’ on equal pay to them aren’t true.”
READ MORE: Amy Schumer buys her father’s farm back for Christmas gift
According to the Variety report, the 36-year-old comedian was able to raise her payment significantly after going back to Netflix and asking for more.
“Amy Schumer couldn’t have been hotter as a personality when she set a deal last year to star in a comedy special for Netflix, The Leather Special, which premiered in March,” the story said. “But when Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle made headlines for commanding eye-popping deals for $20 million per special, Schumer’s team went back to Netflix and flatly asked for more money.”
The writer, Daniel Holloway, cited an unnamed source and wrote that Schumer was initially paid about $11 million but “received significantly more compensation after she raised the question of fairness relative to the Rock and Chappelle deals.”
READ MORE: Kim Cattrall speaks out about agism in Hollywood
The allegations that Schumer requested equal pay comes after many other female celebrities have negotiated higher salaries after learning their male counterparts were being paid more.
Shameless star Emmy Rossum had a salary standoff with Warner Bros., which caused a delay for the Season 8 production of the Showtime drama.
When Rossum joined the cast of Shameless in 2011, her salary was significantly lower than her co-star, William H. Macy. Speaking out about the issue, Rossum said it made perfect sense that she was paid less than Macy at the time because it was her first TV show.
READ MORE: Daniel Dae Kim comes clean about his ‘Hawaii Five-O’ exit
At the 2017 Vulture Festival, Rossum revealed that Macy was one of her biggest supporters. She told the panel, “It’s unconscionable they would pay a woman less for the same job.”
“It’s show biz’s job to get us for as cheaply as they can — and our job to say no,”she said. Macy went on to point out that Rossum’s character, Fiona, is truly the centre of the show.
Rossum and the studio came to terms on a new contract in December and she tweeted her excitement about continuing to work on the series.