‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Co-Writer Allegedly Exits Sequel Due To Pay Disparity

Published on September 9, 2019.

EPA/NINA PROMMER

After the massive success of Crazy Rich Asians, Warner Bros. is hard at work to bring fans the sequel, but now one of its writers has left.

Writer Adele Lim who cowrote the first film alongside Peter Chiarelli has left the project after issues with pay disparity according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

The outlet stated that Chiarelli, who became known in Hollywood after is work on the 2009 hit The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, was offered much more than Lim, whose credits include series such as One Tree Hill. Reign, Private Practice and more.

“Being evaluated that way can’t help but make you feel that is how they view my contributions,” Lim told THR, adding she felt women of color were regarded as “soy sauce” — hired to work on projects solely for cultural specificities on TV and film rather than to substantially shape and tell a story.

Crazy Rich Asians, which was released in 2018, earned $238 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing romantic-comedy in a decade.

The Hollywood Reporter added that Lim was offered more money for the sequel and Chiarelli offered to split his own fee with her, which she confirmed, but turned the offer down.

“Peter has been nothing but incredibly gracious, but what I make shouldn’t be dependent on the generosity of the white-guy writer,” Lim told THR. “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 films, which women of color would never have been [hired for].”

“There’s no realistic way to achieve true equity that way,” she added.