Current Events > MADtv Actress says she QUIT the show cause her WHITE MALE Co-Stars got more $$!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

58 y/o Debra Wilson, played one of the most iconic characters on MADtv (once rival to SNL) for 8 seasons has come out to attack the show after she quit when she realized that the show creators did NOT negotiate with her on her salary after her WHITE MALE CO-STARS made more money than her and didn't even try to keep her after she threatened to quit..which she did!!

In an interview with Comedy News, the actress said she left in 2003 after discovering a pay disparity between her and her male white male cast members which she said the show was unwilling to address

She said "I was a tenured cast member from the beginning, from pilot and people were cming in after me making more than me. And when i realized there were white male cast members who were coming in after me making more than me i went, okay can we talk about this and the answer was no"

She was the first black female cast member when she made her debut in 1995 and the longest serving original member as she created the characters of Tovah McQueen and Bunifa Latifah Halifah Sharifa Jackson but her most recognized for playing Oprah Winfrey, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey

She said her contributions weren't being appreciated and she wasn't having it after new people started coming in and getting paid more, particularly white male cast members. Her decision to leave was principle and the fact she was still the original black woman on the show.

Debra continued to act in other movies and said despite the budget crisis the show had, they were able to still made funny sketches as she was one of the most beloved

Do you think she was one of the funniest on the show?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2FnunslP1E

https://i.imgur.com/iVUWyRO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QGel2od.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6gInZj2.jpg
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Ugh her too now.

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mo collins was the funniest female cast member

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MadTV had some damn good cast members, but it was really between her and Michael McDonald for who was the best.

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If she's telling the truth I feel like her feelings are valid. She was a staple of the show during the era I watched

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Shadowplay posted...

MadTV had some damn good cast members, but it was really between her and Michael McDonald for who was the best.

Will Sasso says hell no.

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My favorite season was Season 5, there wasn't a single cast member I didn't like:

Michael McDonald
Will Sasso
Alex Borstein
Debra Wilson
Pat Kilbane
Phil Lamaar
Aries Spears
Nicole Sullivan
Mo Collins

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Jesus christ dude, was that second pic really necessary? I almost had a heart attack!

Debra Wilson was fantastic on that show. Her complaints are completely valid.

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From what I've heard, no one on madtv was making shit by show business standards

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I barely remember her

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Was it really a race thing or a greed thing?

Based on the full interview(TC cut some things out, for whatever reason)

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/debra-wilson-madtv-pay-disparity-white-cast-members-1234916310/

What I wanted to do and what I wanted to create on that show did not hit a glass ceiling, Wilson said. But when I was told that All the things you want to create and be on the show has a monetary value, and we dont value it as much as the new people coming in, thats when I left.

It seems less about race, and more that they just didn't want to give her money. And based on what she's saying, it wasn't that much:

While Wilson did not reveal the exact pay gap between her and the other cast members salaries, she said her departure was less about dollars and cents and more about the principle of being the only original Black woman on the show since its television debut in 1993.

If it was specifically a race thing, then they're scumbags, but I have a feeling it was more they were trying to keep her on for way less than the others, because the others were asking more(especially when MadTV started getting more and more popular, they wanted to keep someone they hired for cheap at that same price).
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Slayer_22 posted...

If it was specifically a race thing, then they're scumbags, but I have a feeling it was more they were trying to keep her on for way less than the others, because the others were asking more(especially when MadTV started getting more and more popular, they wanted to keep someone they hired for cheap at that same price).

This is a weird stance to take. First, there's no reason to believe that it couldn't have been or is less likely to be about race. This was a different time than now, almost 20 years ago. And even today, female and people of color are still fighting to get equal pay to their white male counterparts. Then to assume that the new people just happened to ask for more and the studio didn't want to give the same respect to Wilson.. Wut? So the executives should just give the nobodies that come onto the show more money because they asked, and not cater to someone who had been on the show from the beginning and proven herself, helped bring to life popular characters on the show, and established credibility? That makes no sense

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The women always carried that show. Debra Wilson, Nicole Sullivan, Mo Collins, Alex Borstein, maybe others I'm forgetting. They should've been the highest paid cast members.

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AlCalavicci posted...

This is a weird stance to take. First, there's no reason to believe that it couldn't have been or is less likely to be about race. This was a different time than now, almost 20 years ago. And even today, female and people of color are still fighting to get equal pay to their white male counterparts. Then to assume that the new people just happened to ask for more and the studio didn't want to give the same respect to Wilson.. Wut? So the executives should just give the nobodies that come onto the show more money because they asked, and not cater to someone who had been on the show from the beginning and proven herself, helped bring to life popular characters on the show, and established credibility? That makes no sense

I'm going by what the article itself says and what she said specifically, while also knowing full well that Hollywood doesn't give a fuck about race as long as they make money. Do you really think companies try to be diverse because they care? No, it's what will get public opinion on your side. Greed will take precedence over racism in most cases. That is NOT to say racism won't play a part in these situations, but to pretend money isn't the issue is just...well, ignoring it.

For example: WWE basically blacklisted Hulk Hogan after he said the N-word. However...Vince McMahon said the N word right in front of Booker T for a skit, then later on Hogan was forgiven. You really think they care about racism? Fuck no, sadly, they care more about public opinion as public opinion means brownie points which means $$$.

That being said, the reason I say it's about money is she specified new hires getting more money than her. Which, of course, makes me think that newer cast members were getting better contracts as the show grew. Which does happen in shows like this. They get more money as the show grows, offer beefier contracts to newer actors because they're making more. In this case, they continued giving smaller checks to the people they already got into deals with. It doesn't seem about race issue to me, seems like a money issue. The issue being they didn't want to give money.
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i can't tell if the topic title is a very clever way to spread class consciousness

or an attempt to divert away from it by making it about race, rather than about the obvious fact that the situation has NOTHING to do with race and is actually about all the actors wanting the same amount of pay as the top fucking pay.

@Full_Throttle what's going on here dude? are you shilling as a race agitator or something?

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wbloechel posted...

^ so close to a WWE Propaganda post.

We talking about @WWEPropaganda or are we talking something else?
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Slayer_22 posted...

That being said, the reason I say it's about money is she specified new hires getting more money than her. Which, of course, makes me think that newer cast members were getting better contracts as the show grew. Which does happen in shows like this. They get more money as the show grows, offer beefier contracts to newer actors because they're making more. In this case, they continued giving smaller checks to the people they already got into deals with. It doesn't seem about race issue to me, seems like a money issue. The issue being they didn't want to give money.

Of course it's about money. No one goes in to these decisions (I hope) saying "if Debra Wilson asks for more money, we're not going to give her more money because she's black and a woman, even though we are offering more money to these new nobodies". That doesn't mean there's not a hidden or subconscious bias against people of color or women which has been happening for decades. But the moment they denied her an increase in pay, they decided that she, a black woman of color was worth less to them than new cast members who had not made names for themselves. We obviously can only speculate, but I would be hard pressed to believe that if Will Sasso or Michael McDonald were in the exact same situation as her and asked for a raise, that they would deny them the request in the same way.

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Yawn

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AlCalavicci posted...

Of course it's about money. No one goes in to these decisions (I hope) saying "if Debra Wilson asks for more money, we're not going to give her more money because she's black and a woman, even though we are offering more money to these new nobodies". That doesn't mean there's not a hidden or subconscious bias against people of color or women which has been happening for decades. But the moment they denied her an increase in pay, they decided that she, a black woman of color was worth less to them than new cast members who had not made names for themselves. We obviously can only speculate, but I would be hard pressed to believe that if Will Sasso or Michael McDonald were in the exact same situation as her and asked for a raise, that they would deny them the request in the same way.

I mean, that's fair, but I still think that they would have said no regardless. I recall hear that MadTV having a pretty shit tier budget, especially in the early seasons. Only towards the late 2000s did they have a decent one.

I don't think my stance is a weird one to take, it's just what you can expect from showbiz.
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looks like a tie so far
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I think other cast members were funnier. Sasso, Lee, Collins, MacDonald, etc. were carrying the show better than anyone else, imo. She definitely didn't.

I don't think her sketches were overrated or not funny either, they were still great. So where do I vote?
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FarFromFields posted...

The women always carried that show. Debra Wilson, Nicole Sullivan, Mo Collins, Alex Borstein, maybe others I'm forgetting. They should've been the highest paid cast members.

All of this. Stephanie Weir and Nicole Parker were great too.

Phil Lamarr, Aries to an extent, Bobby Lee, Key & Peele and Will Sasso were all fantastic and top tier as well.

Really the white men except for Sasso were all painfully unfunny. And yes I'm including McDonald in that as well.

*Andy Daly was apparently there and he's hilarious but he was barely on there.

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I don't know if she was the funniest because Mad TV had a lot of great cast members (better than SNL for sure) but she was awesome and definitely deserved to be paid.

MorbidFaithless posted...

Debra Wilson was fantastic on that show. Her complaints are completely valid.

Pretty much this.

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Kastrada posted...

All of this. Stephanie Weir and Nicole Parker were great too.

Phil Lamarr, Aries to an extent, Bobby Lee, Key & Peele and Will Sasso were all fantastic and top tier as well.

Really the white men except for Sasso were all painfully unfunny. And yes I'm including McDonald in that as well.

*Andy Daly was apparently there and he's hilarious but he was barely on there.

I was with you until you said McDonald was unfunny.
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Key and Peele carried the show.

Debra was great but there were a lot of dope cast members. And if shes talking about somebody like Michael McDonald, he deserved more honestly.

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AlCalavicci posted...

My favorite season was Season 5, there wasn't a single cast member I didn't like:

Michael McDonald
Will Sasso
Alex Borstein
Debra Wilson
Pat Kilbane
Phil Lamaar
Aries Spears
Nicole Sullivan
Mo Collins

Really no Bobby Lee? For shame

But yeah I think she's entirely right if this is true, she was an iconic member of the cast. I suspect it to do with them trying to bring in better talent to the show, but I don't remember a lot of the cast that was as good as she was when she was on. There's also to consider how much she was writing, because a lot of the actors also wrote sketches.

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masticatingman posted...

like Michael McDonald

He sucked.

ShyOx posted...

Really no Bobby Lee? For shame

Wasn't in Season 5

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She didn't CARRY the show but she was totally one of the funniest players.

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Some Key and Debra goodness in this skit:

https://youtu.be/Y_jQVLovyBo
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WingsOfGood posted...

He sucked.

Lmao no

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Slayer_22 posted...

We talking about @WWEPropaganda or are we talking something else?

Well you gotta believe pro-wrestling and the WWE are one of the best examples of inclusiveness and equality in all of entertainment with a range of stars from all creeds and nations across the world as well as a long history of challenging perceptions to bring the greatest atheletes creating the greatest entertainment imaginable.

Just like Wrestling Legend Sputnik Monroe who firmly believed in equality during a time of strict segregation. And was furious at the notion of only allowing black patrons into one small segregated part of the arena.



Spudnik man made headlines worldwide after being arrested and forced to pay an enormous fine for "drinking in the black cafes with several black friends." and then shocked the world by being represented in court by a black lawyer.

https://i.imgur.com/yVDwjpn.gif

After this every show he ever attended in Tennessee, there were thousands of black fans at the gates wanting to see Spudnik, who where literally being turned away. Until Spudnik straight up refused to compete at any arena unless the crowd was desegregated and all fans, regardless of race where allowed to sit together.

And at the time the establishment was furious but he was just too popular and they had no choice but to concede as the money kept rolling in. He always maintained that he had the kids on his side and the minority fans on his side. And that's all he needed.

Once Sputnik had done this it became impossible for Football, music or basketball events to justifiy the segregated crowds and they were forced embrace equality due to his influence

https://i.imgur.com/kCckn1i.jpg

Too this day he is credited with helping to end segregation in the South. And retroactively a considered a hero despite all the abuse he endured at the time.

You have to wonder if the producers of MADtv thought like Sputnik, we wouldn't be in this situation we're in today where people feel undervalued due to superficial aspects of who they are.


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Wow WWE Pro. That is very interesting.

While I wouldn't say WWE for example always treated their black star right. I never knew about Sputnik Monroe.
Thank you.


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WWEPropaganda posted...

Well you gotta believe pro-wrestling and the WWE are one of the best examples of inclusiveness and equality in all of entertainment with a range of stars from all creeds and nations across the world as well as a long history of challenging perceptions to bring the greatest atheletes creating the greatest entertainment imaginable.

Just like Wrestling Legend Sputnik Monroe who firmly believed in equality during a time of strict segregation. And was furious at the notion of only allowing black patrons into one small segregated part of the arena.



Spudnik man made headlines worldwide after being arrested and forced to pay an enormous fine for "drinking in the black cafes with several black friends." and then shocked the world by being represented in court by a black lawyer.

https://i.imgur.com/yVDwjpn.gif

After this every show he ever attended in Tennessee, there were thousands of black fans at the gates wanting to see Spudnik, who where literally being turned away. Until Spudnik straight up refused to compete at any arena unless the crowd was desegregated and all fans, regardless of race where allowed to sit together.

And at the time the establishment was furious but he was just too popular and they had no choice but to concede as the money kept rolling in. He always maintained that he had the kids on his side and the minority fans on his side. And that's all he needed.

Once Sputnik had done this it became impossible for Football, music or basketball events to justifiy the segregated crowds and they were forced embrace equality due to his influence

https://i.imgur.com/kCckn1i.jpg

Too this day he is credited with helping to end segregation in the South. And retroactively a considered a hero despite all the abuse he endured at the time.

You have to wonder if the producers of MADtv thought like Sputnik, we wouldn't be in this situation we're in today where people feel undervalued due to superficial aspects of who they are.

Your posts are so God damn interesting, I love it.
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