Nia Long Reportedly Fighting Lionsgate Over Salary Discrepancy

Amid the Michael Jackson biopic hitting theaters and breaking records, some off-screen drama has followed, with Nia Long reportedly heading to mediation with Lionsgate over a major pay discrepancy.

At the heart of the dispute is the portrayal of the Jackson family matriarch, Katherine Jackson. While Nia Long is a Hollywood staple with a career spanning decades, a report from Puck News‘ Matthew Belloni suggests that her salary for the blockbuster biopic does not reflect her status—or the contractual promises allegedly made by the studio.

The conflict reportedly stems from a “favored nations” clause in Long’s contract. In the entertainment industry, this clause is designed to ensure that an actor receives pay that is equitable to her co-stars.

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However, Nia Long reportedly learned that her male co-stars, Colman Domingo (who plays Joe Jackson) and Miles Teller (who portrays attorney John Branca), received significantly higher payouts than she did. Despite the favored nations agreement intended to create pay equity among the lead cast, the discrepancy has reportedly led Long to confront the studio, with talks of taking the matter to formal mediation if a resolution isn’t reached.

Part of the studio’s defense reportedly hinges on screen time. As it stands, the character of Katherine Jackson does not receive an overwhelming amount of minutes in the final cut of the film. However, the original script shows that her role was much larger.

The news of Long’s pay discrepancy comes at a time when other figures in the production are seeing massive payouts. According to TMZ, director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King were allegedly paid $10 million and $6 million, respectively, to handle last-minute edits and reshoots. These reshoots were reportedly focused on sensitive scenes addressing the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson.

At the time of this writing, Lionsgate has not issued an official statement regarding the story of the possibility of mediation.

Despite the drama, Nia’s been looking amazing and unbothered.