Report: "Big Bang Theory" stars take pay cut to raise female co-stars' pay
It’s good to have friends like “The Big Bang Theory” cast mates.
According to Variety, cast members Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg have offered to take a pay cut so Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch can get raises.
Apparently, Bialik and Rauch, who joined the hit series later than their co-stars, are pushing for more pay for the last two seasons of the show. The two actresses joined the show in season 3.
Variety reports that they are getting paid approximately $200,000 per episode for the show’s 10th season, while the original five cast members get paid $1 million. The original cast members reportedly agreed to take a $100,000 pay cut in order to free up $500,000 for Bialik and Rauch to divide per episode. That would bring them to about $450,000 per episode -- a significant raise but still not equal to their co-stars.
Salary negotiations will begin next week, and it’s unclear if Bialik and Rauch will push for more money to catch up with their colleagues.
The last time the “Big Bang” stars renewed their contracts, Helberg and Nayyar were able to match the $1 million salary of Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco.