Despite being an industry veteran, Meagan Good reveals she was finally paid her worth on her latest film.
While promoting “Divorce in the Black,” she spoke candidly about her experience with the film’s director, writer, and producer, Tyler Perry . She described him as an “angel” during an interview on NBC’s “Today With Hoda & Jenna.”
On the show, Good confirmed that Perry was the first to compensate her properly for her role despite her working as an actress for “over 30 years.”
“I actually cried because what I love about Tyler is not only is he an angel, not only is he a genius, not only is he unapologetic as a leader, but he also makes you feel valued and seen and appreciated, and he goes out of his way to do that,” Good explained to hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “I think about how people pay it forward, and I don’t know if anyone paid it forward to him, but he most certainly pays it forward to everyone else.”
While Perry willingly paid Good accordingly, the actress revealed she initially hesitated after receiving the offer to participate in the film as the lead.
“He [Perry] was like ‘You deserve this’ ’cause I was already thinking in my head like, what I was going to ask, and I was like, ‘Oh, is this too much?'” she shared.
She continued, “I was like, ‘I don’t want to lose the job.’ ‘Cause I come from that generation when you’re working in the ’90s and 2000s when women ask for something you are perceived to be a certain kind of way or when you show up a certain way. When you’re assertive, you’re perceived to be a certain kind of way… But that’s what I love about Tyler, ’cause he was like, ‘I was already going to give that to you.’… I started crying.”
This isn’t the first time an actress has come forward with a similar, positive experience with Perry.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Taraji P. Henson revealed she was not paid her asking price as an actress until working with Perry.
“I was asking for half a million. I didn’t get paid that until I did my first Tyler Perry film. He was the first person that gave — that broke the standard that I was getting paid for films, and he gave me $500,000,” Henson told Variety during its series “Actors on Actors” in 2019.
Perry’s efforts further emphasize that there is a pay disparity in Hollywood. According to CNBC, research by three professors showed that lead female actresses receive $1.1 million less than their male counterparts, and per The Hollywood Reporter, women of color are paid far less than white women. In addition, actresses over the age of 50 tend to earn $4 million less than male actors, the professors noted.
It is clear Perry’s actions demonstrate a clear effort to level the playing field.
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