Tracee Ellis Ross Backtracks On Her Equal Pay Dispute with ABC

By Sandra Rose  | 

Tracee Ellis Ross
 
Tracee Ellis Ross has denied a report alleging she threatened to cut back her Black-ish TV appearances if she didn't get a pay raise equal to co-star Anthony Anderson's substantial salary. Tracee reportedly earns $80K per episode wile Anderson takes home $100K per episode.

The Hollywood Reporter claimed on Friday, that the 45-year-old actress was earning considerably less than her 47-year-old male co-star and she planned to cut back her appearances on the hit ABC sitcom if her salary wasn't commensurate with Anderson's.

But on Saturday, Jan. 20, Tracee took to Twitter.com to deny ever making such statements about her salary dispute with the network.

"There has been a lot of conversation and speculation the last few days regarding my Black-ish salary. I was in renegotiation, like many actors find themselves in during the fourth season of a successful show. I wanted to be compensated in a way that matches my contribution to a show that I love for many reasons, including the opportunity it allows me to reshape what it is to be a fully realized black woman on TV."

Tracee, who is the daughter of '60s R&B/Soul icon Diana Ross, won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series -- Musical or Comedy -- in 2017, and while Anthony has been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes, he has yet to walk away with a coveted prize.

Many of Tracee's fans believe she deserves equal pay to Anderson on that basis alone -- despite the fact that Anderson holds dual roles as both actor and executive producer on the show.

Tracee went on to deny leaking the report to THR and she claimed she never issued any threats to ABC.

"The words and thoughts that were in the original article that started this public conversation were not mine; there were never any threats. I wish I would have been called by the reporter to confirm that, Having had my renegotiation become a public conversation was awkward, but I'm grateful for the outpouring of support. I'm truly thankful that important conversations are taking place about fighting for women's worth and equality, and tightening the pay gap in every industry."

Photos by Getty Images, Instagram.com

  • Blaque Mahogany

    $20K is not a lot to me because I don't consider her role on the show as pivotal to the storyline/theme of the show. It's from his perspective. She could have died in childbirth and the show would still have continuity in my eyes. Honestly, she is about as important (maybe even less important) than his coworkers.

    That being said, can we get a post on Monique and Wanda Sykes. Monique recently did an interview with Sway in the morning (or whatever the show is called).

  • Phillybruh

    She'll get her raise. His acting fee and hers should be the close. He'll get a 20k raise just like she will.

  • Rayne

    Keep on talking Tracey you gonna find yourself blacklisted like Monique. I like you but you’re not all that funny. Fight for yourself. Everybody worried about everybody else pockets. I can negotiate my ass off. If you don’t possess that skill then you can learn it. Ion speak for everyone.

  • cherrypie

    *Sigh* 80k per episode tho! Dang, I'm in the wrong line of work.

  • ShelbyMoore

    Right and they're complaining. There are people (with and without degrees) that don't even see that type of money in a year. Hard for me to feel sorry for the rich.

  • Fire & Ice

    I really thought it would be a huge gap. Like he's making 100,000 and she's making say 20,000.

  • Quitedeliteful

    $80,000.00 an episode and she's complaining?!?! Sheeet!!! If somebody gave my $80.00 right about now I'd be over the moon!!!

  • Fire & Ice

    Ikr. Shit I need to put some gas in my car ???

  • Quitedeliteful

    LOLLOLLOL!!!!!

  • Blaque Mahogany

    It's weird to me that people are saying that she (and other black actors) should be quiet/content with that they make because they make more money than the average person. Wth does that have to do with anything? You're comparing apples to oranges. The standard or comparison would be the amount of money that people in that industry/market are making. Hell, some of us make more than the average person. But let you find out that your yt co-worker is making $20/hr or $20k annually more than you are. Are you going to shut up and take it just because you make more than the average American.

    People are weird.

    P.S. I don't think she should make as much as him in this instance--this is just a comment on the (il)logic that I have been seeing/hearing around equal pay for entertainers.

  • Phillybruh

    This is a ploy to get them both raises. He's being underpaid compared to his white counterparts on similar shows. He will still make 20k more than her when negotiations are done.

  • tintin

    LMAO. this is rich people problems. I won $30 in the lottery the other day and was jumping for joy

  • Blaque Mahogany

    This is a ploy to get them both raises.
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    If this is true, I am 100% ok with it.

  • Monique B

    EXACTLY, VERY MUCH UNDER PAID!

  • A D N

    I guess the show isn't bringing in a lot of money. Very low salaries for 3 years. Their salaries seem to be a lot less than other actors on a primetime network. Give her equal pay. I'm sure he gets additional monies for his executive producer role. Next she will want to have a larger role on the show as well.

  • Peace

    The White Friends cast were earning $750,000.00 up $1million per episode during the final seasons.

    Black actors don’t make anywhere near what white actors make.
    If they are lucky to make movies and command $20 million per movie that with a ? trophy Oscar Golden Globe or Emmy they set. Tracey is a trained Actress like Angela Basset that don’t get the true credit for their craft. Loved her in Girlfriends. Latifah and Jada produce and make money in movies and television post Living Single and other successful shows with all black cast. They should get paid period.

  • ShelbyMoore

    Having sympathy for someone who is making more than most Americans is silly to me. She needs to have her "peers" stand up for her because that $80K per year could do so many Americans good. I doubt they would be complaining, yet she's complaining about $80K per episode when there are people hungry all over this country. #NoSympathyHere

  • A D N

    Yes! I thought so too. But I'm unsure how the entertainment industry works. How much does Nene gets paid per episode or any reality tv star? I know the Friends show actors or Seinfeld actors were getting a lot more, but their show had a huge market of fans and viewers.

  • Phillybruh

    Her role has expanded in the 4th season because she is a pretty popular character and her issues resonate with a lot of women. Usually they re-up in their 4th season which this show is in.

  • Phillybruh

    She has every right to ask for a raise. The show is doing well.

  • Phillybruh

    Friends was the highest rated show on TV. The revenue that show created for NBC warranted that pay raise and they weren't always making a million dollars and episode.

  • Blaque Mahogany

    So in the Monique interview she said that her, Gabrielle Union, Kimberly Elise, and Danny Glover made less than $1M for Almost Christmas. Not less than $1M a piece. Less than $1M COLLECTIVELY. All of their salaries together were less than $1M.

    Right now, the biggest controversy is the fact that Michelle Williams got paid $625K for her role in All the Money in the World while Mark Wahlberg made $5M. Never seen the movie. Don't know their roles. But, the point is there national outrage over this. I'm sure the fact that yt women and black women are supporting Michelle Williams has something to do with it. But, when it comes to our people we can come up with a one million and one reasons to justify why they should be paid less. Shyt is sad.

  • A D N

    I stand with Monique. Give her equal pay to her peers.

  • Peace

    Really. Did you watch it? Did you watch The Cosby Show? Empire? Shows with a serious following.

    I’m sure Friends wasn’t the as high rated as you may think. Nobody was sitting around the set waiting on that mess to come. I never ever watched a single episode.

    White Privilege Period

  • Mark mcharm

    Monique is not a superstar,almost christmas does not have cross over appeal, this story is getting lame when 5 of the top actors are Black men demanding 10-20million a film.

  • bashi

    Truth let me see any white woman supporting Monique because I saw none

  • Mark mcharm

    80 grand an episode is low ??

  • Mark mcharm

    she is making almost a million dollars a year i love tracey ross but these people are dillusional.

  • ShelbyMoore

    Didn't say she didn't have a right to....I said I don't have any sympathy for rich people when there are so many out here suffering. 'Tis all.

  • Mark mcharm

    Should she have not taken the money and invested in a production company ? Byron allen and tyler perry do not ask white people for sh.... invest in yourself and stfu.

  • Mark mcharm

    i get what you are saying but as much as michael jordan used to destroy my knicks he always took pay cuts .he would say how much money do you really need afterwhile. ? you cannot spend all this money in a lifetime ,her mother is getting older tracy ross will be even richer when she passes.

  • Phillybruh

    I did watch it and so did 30 million other people every Thursday until it went off the air. Cosby was well paid for the Cosby show when it was pulling in rating for NBC. Friends is on somewhere right now.

  • A D N

    Third season successful show as compared to others in the same industry, yes.

  • A D N

    My opinion is the same as Tracey Ross, give her equal pay, period. I'm not understanding the argument or question...

  • Ni Ni

    I know thats right! No sympathy from me either. I could pay Sallie Mae and US dept of Ed. & tell them kiss my azz with her salary.

  • Phillybruh

    If the show is pulling in the ratings and money for the network that is supposed to be. The actors deserve a cut they are an important piece. The whole cast is in salary discussions it is headed into its 5th season.

  • Li

    I think Monique is kicking up an unnecessary fuss. She didn't have to do the movie. Period. Don't like the pay - renegotiate! Don't like the pay - get a different agent! I can tell you this: Danny Glover was blackballed for years and years in Hollywood because of activisim, and now he's working again (since Dream Girls). I'm sure it has taken him a long time to get back to working. And getting his name out. I see him doing interviews. The fire has left him just a little bit. But I'm sure he's glad to be working.

    I'm not sure a lot of these stars are happy with their salaries being out in the public. I'm sure Mark isn't happy about his salary being reported. (imdb)Mark has 4 films in production and he has a production company, so he gets paid both ways. Michelle has 6 films in production, so if she thinks she's getting paid too little she can renegotiate. But she's lucky to have 6 films; there are some actresses who are still reading scripts.

  • Li

    And those were supporting parts for all of them; not "starring" parts where one person carried the movie. Also, those little indie films - the producers are scraping money together to get it made. According to IMDB:

    Budget:$17,000,000 (estimated)
    Opening Weekend USA: $15,564,000, 11 November 2016, Wide Release
    Gross USA: $41,715,860, 23 December 2016

    Now normally how this works with indies is this way: When the movie breaks even, the stars of the movie get royalty payments on each DVD/VOD sale . Now - did Monique negotiate for royalties? I betcha she's getting royalties for the Parkers. She should get a better agent.

  • Li

    No it's not. That's standard pay for a sitcom. Dramas get more than that.

  • Li

    They have to film 5 seasons in order for the show to go into syndication and that's where the REAL MONEY IS. For the producers and the actors. If there's dissention on the set or among the actors, ABC will kill the show.

  • Li

    He's also the producer and may write some the eps.

  • my view

    This whole Mo thing is annoying. That's like saying give Big Daddy Kane the same pay as you would Lil Wayne. Mo only uses boycotts when she doesn't get her way. I don't ever see her fighting for anyone but herself. She doesn't care about Tiffany she only cares about herself

  • Mark mcharm

    She is multimillionaire complaining sick of these out of touch rich people .

  • Mark mcharm

    You take what someone gives you when you work for other people do not understand how people do not get it.

  • Mark mcharm

    She is an employee that is free to find another job people make this harder than it should be my job was not paying enough i found one that did. Disney is not going to keep throwing money to everyone thay have too many people to pay. she could be like Disney did to espn and gave them the boot before the Holidays.

  • A D N

    I take it in hopes I'm being paid fairly. And yes, comparison is the best tool to understanding what is fair.

  • A D N

    I think you have missed the point. You are making another point. The point is she wants to be paid her salary not just based on her worth to the industry. She is standing to say, along with Monique, that they should be paid equal to another person in the same position. This is not just a gender issue or race issue, this is an equality issue based on those points. Fairness is the key.

  • A D N

    Hopefully the show makes it passed 5 seasons. Boy networks really get over don't they. But hey, it's a business and they need money to function.

  • Zeta Phi Beta 1920

    She leaked it. I would too.

  • EMILY POST

    She didnt stand with the Toni Chick on girlfriends when the CW was dogging all of them on Girlfriends.... They let the actress who played Toni quit and being her mom is Diana Ross you would of thought she would have stood with the other actress . So whatever some people just want attention...

  • Fire & Ice

    Honey being an adult is to damn real ???

  • EMILY POST

    Blacks almost always seem to get low balled on entertainment contracts because people know most are so desperate they will accept anything and they are extremely trusting of people in entertainment handling their business that are not looking out for their best interest.

  • Fire & Ice

    Which is why he gets more. What part of this is she not understanding?!?! I think a lot of these women, are trying to milk the "me too/time's up" movement. I like Tracy but she needs to cut it out.

  • https://www.thewhatsup.org Hair Lova ???

    As far as Mo is concerned she has realize that NO ONE in hollyweird was willing to give her a damn job, after all that Lee Daniels and Oprah mess. She’s not sought after, therefore she got what they figured she deserved. When you hear Monique is gonna be in s movie, im sure no one was piling out to see the movie because of her. Now if this was about 20yrs ago after The Queens Of Comedy, this would have been a different conversation.

    Now with Tracee, isn’t Anthony Excutive Producer? Being said he’d supposed to get more than she. I’m all for equality. But know your line first.

  • BadAss Will

    She's in negotiations so she will get what she deserves.

  • Desiree Edwards

    **Traces ellis Ross should get the same pay, no doubt--she's amazing and really makes the show!
    **Monique is not funny and is not relevant
    She needs better management to negotiate her deals
    She should take the 500K and then renegotiate if the comedy special does well.

  • Simone

    Business, including the movie business is about supply and demand. If there is a demand for you, you will be paid as such. My Husband and I went to see All The Money In The World for Mark Wahlberg (and Christopher Plummer), not Michelle Williams. Wahlberg's box office numbers are bigger than Williams' box office returns. Race and gender have nothing to do with it. Modern Family's Sofia Vergara is the highest paid in all of TV over male and female TV actors. She is Latin and a woman. It's about supply and demand.

  • Simone

    It's not about race. Friends brought in incredible ratings and could demand that type of money. I do not watch Black-ish (I used to love Girlfriends though) but it's in its 4th season, I believe. I watched Friends. It was on for 10 seasons. You cannot compare the 2.

  • Quitedeliteful

    LOLLOLLOLLOL!!!!

  • Tequila Mockingbird

    Oh, you make 80K per episode? That must be so hard for you. I feel so sorry that you're going through that. NOT!

  • Anonymouse

    Tracee better get it together and stop acting like Black actresses in their 40s are in such high demand.

  • Li

    And negotiation. Sophia makes her money from business deals and endorsements.

  • Dane

    Slightly off topic, I get your point, and what I'm about to write is MY opinion: Big Daddy should NEVER be used as a comparison for any of the trash rappers of the last 20 years.

  • Dane

    I love Black-ish & Big Bang Theory equally. And BBT has been on for a few more years. However, I still feel Ms. Ellis Ross & Mr. Anderson are grossly underpaid compared to the BBT actors.

  • http://ebonynsweet.com Ebony N’ Sweet

    'Dear White People' should have won the NAACP

  • Lady_Elle

    Sofia's dollars MOSTLY come from her endorsements..

  • Lady_Elle

    Mo has a point... low ball her FIRST...
    Tiffany Haddish will be next.
    $500k when they pay the others MILLIONS.
    That is wrong!

  • Keepin’IT100

    Totally agreed. Black actors are actresses period are underpaid!! However they make more money off us ?

  • Keepin’IT100

    If he’s an executive producer on the show it makes perfect sense that he’s getting paid a higher salary

  • my view

    agreed

  • https://www.thewhatsup.org Hair Lova ???

    How can Tracee get the same pay? She’s a paid actress. He’s a paid actor, plus an excutive producer. Should he not get paid for all of his services? I think the pay is fair. Now if she held all the hats that he did, and got paid less. Then I would totally understand the rant. But right now? No