'Crazy Rich Asians' Co-Writer Adele Lim Exits Sequel Due to Pay Disparity
Adele Lim has exited the upcoming Crazy Rich Asians sequel.
The writer dropped out from the project due to pay parity, according to THR on Wednesday (September 4).
Co-writer Peter Chiarelli was reportedly going to be paid a “significantly higher fee.
“Being evaluated that way can’t help but make you feel that is how they view my contributions,” she said in a statement, adding that women and people of color often are regarded as “soy sauce” — which means to be hired to add culturally specific details on a screenplay, rather than be credited with the substantive work.
According to sources, the offers were $800,000 to $1 million for Peter and $110,000+ for Adele.
“Pete has been nothing but incredibly gracious, but what I make shouldn’t be dependent on the generosity of the white-guy writer. If I couldn’t get pay equity after CRA, I can’t imagine what it would be like for anyone else, given that the standard for how much you’re worth is having established quotes from previous movies, which women of color would never have been [hired for]. There’s no realistic way to achieve true equity that way.”
“There’s too much responsibility and too much precedent from the first movie that the last thing I want to do is just hit a date and release the movie. There’s still too much work to do. Our focus isn’t on the timeline, it’s on getting the story right,” she added.
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