Calling Bull$hit on the Old Hollywood Rules
People don't like to talk about money. It isn't polite, someone says, and everyone nods their heads in agreement. Well, maybe it's the rebel in me, but I want to call Bull$hit on that rule. Let's talk about money. Let's talk loudly about money. Let's talk about how much debt you're in and how much debt I'm in and what we're expecting for the future, so that we don't become a statistic about money being the #1 reason couples fight and get divorced. Let's tell each other what we're making so that we don't find out later that the guy in the next cubicle who is doing less work than you is making a third more. Let's talk about equal pay for equal work. Let's talk about #metoo and #TimesUp.
#metoo starts with equal pay for women because money is power & sex is power.
Money is power because that's the energy some people have placed on making money. I believe it's one of the factors that has led to sexual harassment and our new paradigm. I'm a woman and a minority who's worked in entertainment and media for about 20 years now. About 10 years ago, a guy I met at a dinner party in New York City calls me up when we're both back in Los Angeles. He wants to "keep in touch." Since I don't usually like to meet up with strangers, I call the friend who introduced us, to get a little background. She says he had recently gotten married, that he's an executive producer for a few shows and it would be good to get to know him, since we're both in the entertainment industry. So, we meet up for drinks at a bar in West Hollywood. It's suitably dark, I notice when I walk in. He's at the bar waiting. I say hello and I congratulate him on his recent wedding. He narrows his eyes, slightly taken aback. Then, he clears his throat to tell me that it's not working out, and they've now separated.
I meet him at a dark, upscale bar in West Hollywood.
Uh...oh...I know where this is going. He tells me that he took the liberty to get us a table, and if I was hungry, we could have dinner. I'm not sure what it is that doesn't quite allow me to say "No, thanks" and then leave. Maybe it's that need to be a "good girl" that keeps me from walking out the door immediately. I don't know, but I stay. I sit down, order some food, and he starts telling me about his house in the Hollywood Hills. There's a hot tub, he says, and when you're in it, you can see all of Los Angeles twinkling below. It didn't sound romantic to me. It just gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I fake smile and nod. Then, he tells me he has access to a private plane, and we could go tonight to Las Vegas. I laugh nervously. Without any hesitation or awkwardness, as if it was the most natural thing anyone has ever said to another person, he then says, "stick with me kid, and you'll never have to find another job again! Anytime I'm running a show, I'll bring you in."
Above the Hollywood sign, lights of the city twinkling below.
At this point, I tell him that my boyfriend is waiting for me, and that I have to run. I leave a little astounded and shaken. I'm not an actress, but I think I just had my first "casting couch" experience. Instead of putting me in a big movie and paying me a million dollars, however, this guy was offering me a producer job whenever he worked. Granted, I had only been producing for a few years at this point, but I could get producer jobs on my own. I didn't need to sleep with a man who may or may not be married and who was a lot older...for a job. Did anyone fall for this, and why did he target me, I wonder? I'm not the cute, innocent, wide-eyed, naive girl, even if I am from Texas.
Texas Longhorn staring down the camera ready to charge.
I believe that this guy and other incidents happen because these men see me and any woman they can harass as lesser in value. They believe they make more money and that they can offer me something (i.e. a job), so it gives them a false illusion of power. Sometimes, it works. I saw it in Thailand. While filming a show there, I had asked our local production facilitator why a pretty, young woman was dating her much older, unattractive, balding, overweight, foreign boss, and why I saw a lot of pretty, young Thai women dating men that, to most people, would seem mismatched. Looks are subjective, but my Thai co-worker told me it was because the men could provide the women with money, security and a way out of their poorer circumstances.
"Ultimately, not paying people for their time and for what they're worth devolves into a culture where people feel like it's OK to take advantage of others..."
I believe if we paid people what they're worth and not take advantage of someone just because they're willing to do it for little or no money, then you are less likely to create a culture where one person is more powerful than another. If you start out by taking advantage of someone's good will and willingness to learn and start out at your company by either not paying them or paying them very little, some people start to see those people with less value. I mean think about how you see the intern in your office. Do you have mad respect for him or her? Do you give that person the meaningful, really important jobs? Most likely not. I'm not saying that we should get rid of interns because I think most of my internships helped me land my first job and were useful hands-on learning environments. I'm talking about equal pay for women doing the same jobs as men. I'm also talking about some digital studios asking producers to cut their rate by almost 50%, and I'm talking about job postings I see for those entry level jobs where you have to be a "rockstar" and do 3 or 4 jobs but get paid as a PA. Ultimately, not paying people for their time and for what they're worth devolves into a culture where people feel like it's OK to take advantage of others. Heck, if the boss didn't value that person enough to pay them what they're worth, why should the next person?! I also believe it's how "casting couches" and bullying behaviors are formed...by men and women. Not seeing that intern or assistant as your equal means seeing them as "lesser than" and therefore, for some people, it's OK, in their mind, to throw food at their assistant because they didn't want cilantro or to threaten their careers, if they don't sleep with them.
#metoo Men of Quality Respect Women's Equality! Equal work = equal pay.
As for the guy that gave me that oh so enticing (ahem...cough) offer to sleep with him for a producer gig, he ended up calling me a few years later and asking me for a job! He said he would take anything because he just needed the money. I contemplated, for a second, about asking him to come clean my house, but I didn't. Instead, I told him if I hear of anything, I would let him know. I never spoke to him again and yes, it felt good that it came full circle, and it also felt good to go "higher."
I'd love to change the way Hollywood has been doing business because the old model isn't working and because TIME'S UP, don't you think? Tell me, if you had a company, would you want to pay everyone a living wage and what they're worth? Write it in the comments below. Share this post with everyone you know. Subscribe below, if you'd like to be the first to get my blog posts. Also, if you're interested in learning how to ask for what you're worth or just to find out your net worth, go to the main site and sign up to get a free financial assessment from me.
With so much gratitude and love,
Previous Comments
Carolyn Ts Katy, I’m so impressed at the quality of your thoughts. I agree that perceived value and pay are so important to turn the tide.
July 10, 2018, 01:34pm
Katy @Carolyn Ts Thanks so much, Carolyn for reading and commenting!
July 10, 2018, 02:14pm
Whitney Love this, Katy! So glad you’re sharing your thoughts in this way. We need more of this from smart women!
July 10, 2018, 07:31pm
Katy @Whitney Thanks Whitney! I appreciate you reading and commenting! Please subscribe, if you want to know when a new blog post is up!
July 10, 2018, 07:58pm
John S Spot on! I agree that the lines between financial exploitation, classism, and sexual exploitation are connectors rather than boundaries. I might add that we live in a schizophrenically puritanical culture where sex is in short supply and high demand. This leaves us with a huge surplus of sexually frustrated men, and a dismaying shortage of women who want to have sex with those men. Even when women want to sleep with those men, they often don't do it, because they are afraid of being murdered, stalked, or called a slut. Sexually frustrated men tend to do insane things like go on mass shooting sprees, pay $500 for a bottle of cheap vodka, commit suicide, or invite highly talented producers out to dinner in order to offer them favors for sex. Both men and women are commonly exploited in any way the boss thinks holds value to the boss, and it just so happens that sex with women is insanely valued in the United States of Puritans. Accepted Workplace Abuse + Schizophrenic Puritanism = Sexual Harassment.
July 12, 2018, 06:10pm