Sarah Silverman urges women to ‘ask for more’ pay
In campaign video, Emmy-winning comedian recalls the night she got paid a sixth of what a male colleague earned
Emmy Award-winning comedian Sarah Silverman breaks out of her typically humorous persona in a new campaign video, as she discusses equal pay for woman and men and recalls an incident where she was blatantly discriminated against because of her gender.
“I’m all for women having to work harder to prove themselves at this juncture if that’s the way it is in the world. But if you work a job, and a man is working the same job, you should be getting paid the same,” Silverman says in a short clip produced for Levo League’s Ask4More campaign.
She goes on to recount a stand-up show she took part in alongside Todd Barry at the New York Comedy Club. Silverman says she was paid a mere $10 for her set, but “didn’t think anything of it” until chatting with Barry later on that night and discovering he had earned $60 for similar work.
“It was symbolic. I didn’t need $60,” she continues. “We deserve quality lives with equality, and maybe control over our own human bodies without the government getting involved, to do whatever we get great at and do, and it has to come from inside and understanding that you deserve it and are working to deserve it,” Silverman says.
“Go ahead. Ask for more,” she concludes.
Silverman has been outspoken on women’s issues in the past, sometimes generating controversy. Last month, for example, she found herself in hot water after re-tweeting a tongue-in-cheek list of rape-prevention tips for men. “These are great – send to all the men in ur life,” Silverman wrote as she shared a graphic of the tips, which include such pointers as “Don’t put drugs in women’s drinks” and “Use the buddy system! If it is inconvenient for you to stop yourself from raping women, ask a trusted friend to accompany you at all times.”
But contrary to the stereotype of the sense-of-humor-challenged feminist, this time it was men who took offense. Paul Jukes replied to Silverman on Twitter: “Rather harsh on those of us who, you know, wouldn’t dream of hurting anyone.” Mac, another Twitter member, wrote: “This is so offensive to men. What an awful subtext you’re propagating.”
The original post containing the list was uploaded in May 2011 by Leigh Hofheimer, program coordinator of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The viral response to Silverman’s post – which has been re-tweeted and favorited thousands of times – warranted a post on her own website. “We’re finally giving in and saying something about the week-long, expanding online ‘discussion’ of Sarah’s March 20 tweet of these ‘rape prevention tips,’” reads her home page’s top post from Friday. “And that’s only because there is so much online about it, we don’t want people who come here for Sarah news to think we don’t cover ‘Everything Sarah.’ The simple facts are: 1. It’s a re-tweet (See the ‘RT’ in the tweet?); she didn’t write it. It’s years old. 2. Most of the people writing online with aghast objections are criticizing Sarah for writing them. Why even respond to people who are that dumb?”