Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook of Criminal Minds” are fighting for equal pay. The duo are seeking parity with co-stars Joe Mantegna and Matthew Gray Gubler for the CBS procedural’s 13th season and are currently at an “impasse” in contract negotiations. Deadline broke the story.
The source reports that the actresses are “willing to walk” if they do not receive the pay they deserve. This is completely understandable, especially since this is not the first time the duo have had this battle. Vangsness and Cook were in a similar situation in 2013. They were earning less than half of co-stars Gubler and Shemar Moore’s paychecks and held out for better agreements with ABC Studios, CBS TV Studios, and CBS.
It’s only right that Vangsness and Cook fight for what they deserve, but it’s sickening that this is the second time in four years they’ve had to do so. Also, CBS just went through a similar situation with Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch, who were earning significantly less than their co-stars on “The Big Bang Theory.”
Vangsness and Cook have appeared on “Criminal Minds” since its first season in 2005. Cook has been a series regular during its entire run, with the exception of Season 6. That was the year CBS dropped Cook and co-star Paget Brewster, leaving Vangsness as the only regular female character. Vangsness started as a recurring character in Season 1 and became a series regular soon after.
Unfortunately, pay parity is anything but a given for actresses. The aforementioned “Big Bang Theory” situation saw stars Bialik and Rauch hold out for equal pay before re-upping their contracts for two more seasons. The actresses were earning about $200,000 per episode, as compared to the $1 million their co-stars were making. Natalie Portman told Marie Claire UK that she made a third of Ashton Kutcher’s pay on “No Strings Attached.” Emmy Rossum, the main character of “Shameless,” demanded a raise in December. She and the rest of the cast had been paid less than co-star William H. Macy from the get-go. In May 2016 Robin Wright revealed her fight for better pay on “House of Cards.” “Claire Underwood’s character was more popular than [Frank’s] for a period of time,” she said. “So I capitalized on it. I was like, ‘You better pay me or I’m going to go public.’ And they did.”
In Hollywood women are often hesitant to go forward when they are paid less than men. In an industry this sexist, actresses may develop a bad reputation simply for demanding what they are entitled to. Plus, they are already making more money than some people will ever see in a lifetime, so actresses may fear that their concerns won’t be taken seriously, or they’ll be dismissed as being overpaid in the first place. But this isn’t about a certain profession’s pay grade; it’s about gender equality within the profession. As Jessica Chastain recently told Variety, “What I do now, when I’m taking on a film, I always ask about the fairness of the pay. I ask what they’re offering me in comparison to the guy. I don’t care about how much I get paid; I’m in an industry where we’re overcompensated for the work we do.” The “Zookeeper’s Wife” star added, “But I don’t want to be on a set where I’m doing the same work as someone else and they’re getting five times what I’m getting.”
