Asian stars of 'Hawaii Five-0' quit the show after CBS refused to pay them as much as...

[yuiyoshida]

"Hawaii Five-0" stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park have left the CBS show after the network refused to pay them as much as their white costars, Variety reports.


Sources told the outlet that Kim and Park were seeking salaries equal to those of stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but they were unable to reach a deal with the show's producer, CBS Television Studios.

CBS's final offer to the two actors was reportedly "10-15% lower" than the salaries of their two white costars.

A representative for the network told Variety in a statement: "We are so appreciative of Daniel and Grace's enormous talents, professional excellence, and the aloha spirit they brought to each and every one of our 168 episodes. They've helped us build an exciting new Hawaii Five-0, and we wish them all the best and much success in their next chapters. Mahalo and a hui hou."

The CBS reboot of a police procedural drama premiered in 2010, and Kim and Park starred alongside O'Loughlin and Caan for seven seasons.

more...

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/The-Asian-stars-of-Hawaii-Five-0-quit-the-show-11263734.php

[brush]

1. What bs that network statement is. Just pay the people equally. Hope the rating drop

[rpannier]

2. I guess it would have been too much to ask for the two yahoos they co-starred with

to lend support
But then, and I could be wrong, O'Loughlin and Caan could be 'I got mine' jerks

[mdbl]

3. it's too bad, the show will be less than it could have been

CBS screwed up on this one. I won't be watching anymore.

[oberliner]

4. There was a new version of Hawaii Five-O?

And it's been running for seven years?

Was anyone else aware of this?

[obamanut2012]

8. Yes, and it's a decent, fun show -- because of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park

They fucked this up big.

[oberliner]

12. Thanks

This does seem like a huge screw up from what I am reading about it now.

[IronLionZion]

18. It's on Netflix too if you want to catch up on previous seasons

It's been airing on CBS

[oberliner]

20. Thanks

I'm not a big tv watcher (clearly) but I will check it out.

[snooper2]

57. Like 40 people or so LOL

I assumed this was about some new crappy local channel nighttime show

[Augiedog]

5. Just more racist crap from racists practicing what they do best, racism.

[IronLionZion]

6. Jumped the shark

Damn, I'm watching the most recent season on Netflix right now. This would be not worth watching without Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park. They can't just swap in two other Asian actors and hope we won't notice.

Damn it! There aren't many action shows like this with 2 Asian leads being badass and awesome and all American.

[obamanut2012]

7. I only watched the show because of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park

I'm a huge Lost and BSG fan, and they are why I turned in.

[CentralMass]

9. The show will suck without them.

[AgadorSparticus]

17. +1,000!!! The other 2 should have stood up for their fellow actors

... if they were smart...For job security. This show will not last long now. Most shows don't when they tinker with the original dynamics of the show.

[7962]

10. Caan & O'Laughlin are the main stars. Top billing starts get paid more. Thats the way it works.

Very few other shows pay everyone the same. Seinfeld & Friends ENDED with equal salaries, but didnt start that way. Big Bang is the top show now for several yrs & only the top 3, Sheldon Penny & Leonard, get the top pay. Look up ANY show; there are pay differences between co-stars.
They're actually lucky they were only 10-15% lower. Now they will have a hard time signing elsewhere because of a rep for being greedy

[dembotoz]

28. sadly i agree

i was shocked when i heard micheal weatherly? was the top paid actor on ncis before he left...would have assumed mark harmon.... Never watch the show but salary discrimination can be a slipper slope unless you can prove the jobs are indeed equal.
in other fields say pro football....a franchise nfl quarterback will make more than a rookie free agent walk on....even tho they both put in equals days work and perform the same drills

[hughee99]

43. In the episodes I saw (I'm not a regular watcher) Caan and O'Laughlin got considerably more screen

time, so unless that's changed, I tend to agree.

[7962]

46. They get top billing; the others are supporting cast.

Dont know why they had to point out the race either. This stuff happens all the time in the entertainment business.
Hell, you could go back to the 70s and actors would leave over pay equality disputes even then. I think Major Burns on MASH was one of them.

[Bengus81]

48. I agree,imagine what Ed O'Neil was getting per episode of ....

Married With Children in comparison to everyone else. I know how much Carroll O'Connor was getting,it was unbelievable for the times but it couldn't go on without him.

[7962]

51. And he probably started at top pay when "Modern Family" began nt

[theglammistress]

11. I don't see how the show works without them

Hawaii 5-0 is one of my favorite shows. I always look forward to it on Friday nights.

Kono (Grace Park) was always my favorite character.

I just don't see how this show works without two of the main stars. It's insane. But good for Park and Kim walking away when they weren't being paid their worth.

[SunSeeker]

25. I think the show will work better without them if they are replaced by Native Hawaiians.

I hope the producers hire actual native Hawaiians to play the Hawaiian characters Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park were playing. I always thought Kim and Park were miscast. They are ethnically Korean. Asians of different ethnicities aren't interchangeable, people. Asians do not all look alike. The roles should have gone to native Hawaiians. Maybe they will now.

[7962]

47. I doubt the characters will be recast, but new ones could be Hawaiian. nt

[mnhtnbb]

13. Not having watched the show--but once or twice--my guess is this is not a true ensemble cast

but that the original characters (played by O'Loughlin and Caan) have more lines and more scenes.

So it goes in show biz.

Just ask women actors how tough it is to get equal pay in the industry, let alone stories featuring women at all.

So, yes, show biz is sexist and racist. Is anyone really surprised by this?

[cubbies01]

14. Disagree

They have just as much screen time and lines and have been the center of major story arcs. I would say, like evidenced in their publicity pic above, it is a co lead of those 4 show. Except for the season where O'Loughlin missed several episodes to fix a substance abuse problem.

[mnhtnbb]

16. Still fighting a tough battle in Hollywood.

From a HuffPo article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hawaii-five-o-asian-stars-discrimination-cbs_us_595b90c4e4b05c37bb80236f


Kim and Park’s reported negotiations highlight a growing battle for pay equality in Hollywood. “Shameless” star Emmy Rossum fought to be paid more than her co-star William Macy last year, after making less than he did for several seasons. The actress got Macy’s support, who said “she deserves everything.” Robin Wright also spoke out last year about her demand to be paid the same as “House of Cards” co-star Kevin Spacey ― though she told United Airlines’ in-flight magazine in a June story that she’s not sure the equal paycheck ever really materialized.

[IronLionZion]

19. It's worth fighting for equal pay and equal opportunity

This show is very important for a lot of people who are not used to seeing action heroes like this

[7962]

50. You also have to factor in star power in those instances. Spacey is a much bigger star.

He will get more from the start.
Show business isnt a normal business. An anomaly; the top 3 stars of Big Bang Theory took a cut to give the supporting cast more pay. Which is a lot easier to do when you're getting 24 million a year each; not including rerun residuals

[denvine]

15. Big Loss to the show!

I liked this show but will now quit watching it. Is there a good way to let CBS know except for the website links that you feel goes nowhere?

[obamanut2012]

42. Tweet Kim and tag CBS and Hawai'i Five-O

I can't find a twitter for Grace Park.

[Javaman]

21. What I find appalling is: where the fuck was SAG during all of this.

they should have been fighting for the actors.

[SunSeeker]

22. Paying supporting characters 10-15% less than the star of the show is not racism.

The McGarrett character (Alex O'Loughlin) is the main star of the show, as was the case with the original Hawaii 5-0, where Jack Lord played the character.

All of the asian stars did not quit the show, just two did. The show has a large asian cast, including local native Hawaiians playing some of the characters. They need more.

I hope the producers hire actual native Hawaiians to play the Hawaiian characters Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park were playing. I always thought Kim and Park were miscast. They are ethnically Korean. Asians of different ethnicities aren't interchangeable, people. Asians do not all look alike. The roles should have gone to native Hawaiians. Maybe they will now.

[IronLionZion]

26. The original Kono was native Hawaiian and male, Chin Ho Kelly has always been Asian

Is Danno a star of the show too?

Why should they be considered supporting characters instead of costars? Five-O is a team that works together and helps each other out.

Making America like how it was in 1960s is how Trump and his supporters would like things to be because it benefits a certain type of person. Others have moved forward since our world has changed and it's important to see Asians as Americans and action heroes.

[SunSeeker]

30. I hope Kono is played by a Native Hawaiian again, like the original show.

Like I said, I thought Park was miscast.

I agree it is important to see Asian Americans as action heroes. The original show was actually really good about hiring native Hawaiians. Jack Lord loved Hawaii and Hawaiians. He lived there (and died there). He would go to local plays and shows to find actors for the show.
http://www.rafu.com/2012/01/into-the-next-stage-why-the-original-%E2%80%98hawaii-five-0%E2%80%99-was-better-at-reflecting-the-50th-state-than-the-current-series/

[Dave Starsky]

36. Kam Fong (original Chin Ho)...

Had been an actual Honolulu Police Department officer. So he had his bona fides.

[IronLionZion]

37. The idea of an Asian police officer blew people's minds back in the 60s

His name was shortened by CBS.

Also his son appears in the reboot a few times as the HPD chief

[mountain grammy]

38. The show was a ground breaker.. like Star Trek

and a few others. I loved the original 5-0

[brooklynite]

27. They would never recast...it doesn't work well...

...they would just introduce new characters.

[SunSeeker]

31. Either way, I hope they're replaced by actual Native Hawaiians.

The original Hawaii 5-0 actually hired more Native Hawaiian actors:


THE ORIGINAL ‘HAWAII FIVE-0’ WAS BETTER AT REFLECTING THE 50TH STATE THAN THE CURRENT SERIES
http://www.rafu.com/2012/01/into-the-next-stage-why-the-original-%E2%80%98hawaii-five-0%E2%80%99-was-better-at-reflecting-the-50th-state-than-the-current-series/

[IronLionZion]

34. Native Hawaiian actors would be good

since they are 10% of Hawaii now. Census includes Samoans and other pacific islanders in with native Hawaiians.

Asians are the biggest demographic in Hawaii. Also mixed race people are a very large demographic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii#Demographics

[MariaCSR]

56. Bullshit. The cast of "friends" weren't all main cast

And they were able to get higher salaries from nbc when they demanded it.

[SunSeeker]

58. There was no lead character on Friends. McGarrett is the lead character on 5-0.

Do you even watch the show?

[Blue_Adept]

23. A common occurence during later seasons

en you get past the traditional seven season run, the studio and not the broadcaster pays more of the cost of the production and the actors. So you tend to see strange deals made at that time or some of the supporting/main cast depart. No doubt there are bigger issues here in the two of them being of Asian background getting paid less, especially as I read that Caan doesn't even like being in Hawaii and isn't in as many episodes, but this is also the kind of wonkiness that comes after the end of the standard seven year run for a successful show.

What SHOULD have happened is that both white male leads would have stepped up to either take a cut to compensate or refuse to go forward without the other two getting what they should for it. We saw that happen with Big Bang Theory where the prime trio took cuts for the supporting cast to get a bump up in order to keep everything working right.

We saw it in the movies as well as Robert Downey Jr. showed the other "Avengers" actors how to secure better deals as their tenure went on.

Racism is most definitely involved, structural/institutionalized to be sure, but it's not JUST that.

[Dave Starsky]

41. Leonard Nimoy took up for Nichelle Nichols.

When he found out (via Walter Koenig) that she wasn't making as much as the male crew members, he took it straight to upper management and they fixed it.

Leonard Nimoy was known to do stuff like that.

[Blue_Adept]

44. And completely irrelevant here in regards to a season 8 series

[Grins]

24. And the ONLY reason I ever watched that program....

...was because of Grace Park. Too beautiful not to watch.

You screwed up, CBS!

[mucifer]

29. How can they have Hawaii 50 without the line "book 'em Dano"

or do they still say that on the new show? I don't watch it.

[SunSeeker]

32. Dan-O has not left. The new McGarrett doesn't really say that. nt

[IronLionZion]

33. They've said it in the beginning

maybe once or twice on the first episode.

Mostly Danno and McGarrett have a lot of irritating banter that drags on for too long and is worth fast forwarding to get to the action scenes.

[IronLionZion]

35. Hawaii Five-O has done good stuff for gender issues

First of which was casting a female Kono. The idiotic ramblings of misogynists who protested that the original Kono was male, only served to get more publicity for the show and more viewers who like this sort of thing.

And there are plenty of women in other important leadership roles too in the state government, military, and other law enforcement.

But one of the coolest things I've seen is the large number of female villains on this show. I love female villains who are delightfully evil on a cold blooded and well planned out quest for vengeance. The thought processes of female villains are very complex and they put a lot of time into preparation. And sexism surrounding the suspected criminals is an important part of many plots. "I thought we were searching for a male serial killer? Well, times have changed, try to keep up."

Hawaii is about 26% white. If anyone feels there is too much diversity on the show, you wouldn't have to look very hard to find shows with less diverse leads as action heroes.

[Mosby]

39. Interesting how the media covering this story doesn't mention the pay.

I looked around and couldn't find anything.

I hope the two actors know what they are doing.

[obamanut2012]

40. I watch this mainly because of KIm and Park, and posted about this on my FB

Literally everyone said they only watch it because of them, and won't be watching now.

I honestly think quite a few people like me were Lost and/or BSG fans, and decided to watch it because of these two actors. I knew Caan was in Varsity Blues, but had no idea who O'Loughlin was.

[Calista241]

45. I've been crushing on Grace Park since she was on Battlestar Galactica.

BSG was one of the best tv serials of all time. In my very humble opinion of course.

I watched the first season of Hawaii 5-0, and have seen an episode off and on since then. I won't be watching it anymore.

[Catmusicfan]

49. So Glad Kim and Park stood up for themselves. Their fellow actors should have supported them.

[blueseas]

52. Pure BS

Pay the people!

[WoonTars]

53. And now they make 100% less...

...they weren't the stars of the show, that's why they weren't offered the big bucks.

This is how showbiz works, nothing to do with racism.

I'll still watch the show, love the scenery!

[demmiblue]

54. A MESSAGE TO MY FANS ABOUT HAWAII 5-0 (Daniel Dae Kim on Facebook):

Sorry for the delay in hearing from me, but like you I’m sure, my July 4th holiday was busy with friends and family. I’m back now and didn’t want to let any more time go by without reaching out. By now many of you have heard the news, and I’m sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week. Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue.

As sad as it feels to say goodbye, what I feel most is gratitude. I am so deeply thankful to our crew, writers and everyone associated with the show – and especially the cast, who have been nothing but supportive through this entire process. They and the crew have been my second family for seven years and I wish them nothing but success for season 8 - and beyond.

I also want to say thank you to Peter Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and everyone at CBS. I will always be grateful for their faith in me to bring Chin Ho Kelly to life. As an Asian American actor, I know first-hand how difficult it is to find opportunities at all, let alone play a well developed, three dimensional character like Chin Ho. I will miss him sincerely.
What made him even more special is that he was a representative of a place my family and I so dearly love. It has been nothing short of an honor to be able to showcase the beauty and people of Hawaii every week, and I couldn’t be prouder to call these islands home. To my local community, mahalo nui loa.

Finally, I want to thank all of you, the fans. I’ve read your messages and I can’t tell you how much they’ve meant to me. I never, ever forget that YOU are the reason Hawaii Five-0 is the success that it is, and interacting with you online and in person around the world(!) has been one of the greatest joys of this entire experience. I’m so sorry we won’t be continuing this journey together.

I’ll end by saying that though transitions can be difficult, I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture. The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am. 5-0 continues on after one of its strongest seasons. I’ve got new acting projects on the horizon, and as a producer, my company, 3AD, has its first show, THE GOOD DOCTOR, set to air this fall on ABC. I hope you’ll tune in. There’s a lot to look forward to and I’ll be sure to share it with you. In the meantime,

Aloha, thank you and Happy Independence Day!
-DDK

https://www.facebook.com/136577846385452/photos/a.141032709273299.23386.136577846385452/1500305656679324/?type=3

[MariaCSR]

55. Damn. CBS was like "bye, there's the door"

[LexVegas]

59. I don't think this is because of their race. nt

[yuiyoshida]

60. Than why are the Asians

getting lesser pay? Poor eyesight?

[LexVegas]

61. They aren't the stars of the show. nt

[yuiyoshida]

62. Probably more famous than

those other guys...I don't even know them. I don't watch the show but I know Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park. Maybe its because I am Asian too.

[LexVegas]

63. Regardless, they are not the main stars of the show, so they get paid less.

I have heard of all of them. Have seen Caan in more than the others. The rest, about equal fame to me.

[yuiyoshida]

64. I am glad they Quit..,.

I hope CBS ratings fall and I hope Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park better parts and better pay as they should.

[LexVegas]

65. If they are the main stars, they will get better pay. I don't see race as the issue here.

I know some Asian people, so I will ask them their opinion this weekend.

[yuiyoshida]

66. Well if you do,

make them take you out for some real Asian food... not that stuff in the can...bleh...

[LexVegas]

67. My mom always cooks for me when I come over...

[yuiyoshida]

68. Hopefully there are some decent Asian food near you

Korean BBQ Chicken


Chinese Clams in Black Bean Sauce


From the Philippines, Sizzling Shrimp Gambas

[LexVegas]

69. Her kitchen is the only decent one. nt