Former E! News anchor Catt Sadler has become a symbol for gender pay inequality since she left the cable network after determining her male counterpart Jason Kennedy earned twice as much as she did.
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Sadler’s move even became a topic on the red carpet for the 75th Golden Globe Awards. “Will & Grace” star Debra Messing told E! correspondent Giuliana Rancic that she was “shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts.”
But Frances Berwick, who oversees E! as president of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment’s lifestyle networks, took to the stage at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena on Tuesday to dispute Sadler’s account.
“Jason Kennedy and Catt Sadler had different roles, and therefore different salaries,” Berwick said. “Catt was focused on daytime. Jason Kennedy is on prime evening news, plus red carpet. Our employees’ salaries are based on their roles and their expertise, regardless of gender. So we wish Catt well, but I hope that sets the record straight on that.”
Berwick, who had not commented on the matter up to now, surprisingly addressed it at the end of a session for “Citizen Rose,” a new documentary series by Rose McGowan, whose explosive allegations of having been sexually assaulted by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein became a major catalyst in the #MeToo movement.
Berwick said she felt compelled to address Sadler’s situation after hearing it mentioned several times during McGowan’s session.
“I don’t think it’s being portrayed accurately,” Berwick said after leaving the stage.
“They had different jobs. There is a different pay scale for different jobs.”
Berwick said she had not commented on the matter earlier because “we don’t like to get into details about salaries and I think what we’ve learned in the last 48 hours is we need to be more upfront about it.”
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