Two popular leads from the CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” are reportedly leaving the show prior to season eight due to failed salary negotiation.
According to Variety, sources noted that Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, who play Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua respectively, were unable to reach deals with CBS television studios for equal pay.
After requesting salaries equal to that of their white costars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan, the Asian-American stars were offered numbers that were 10-to-15 percent lower than O’Loughlin and Caan as the studio’s final offer. Variety also noted that the white male stars have deals that offer “percentage points on the show’s back end” in addition to their annual salaries.
In a statement released by CBS Studios, the network said that Kim and Park were celebrated members of the cast who helped shape the show into what it currently is.
“I will never forget meeting Daniel while still writing the pilot and being certain there was no other actor who I’d want to play Chin Ho Kelly,” said executive producer Peter Lenkov. “Needless to say, Daniel has been an instrumental part of the success of ‘Hawaii Five-0’ over the past seven seasons and it has personally been a privilege to know him. Grace’s presence gave ‘Hawaii Five-0’ a beauty and serenity to each episode. She was the consummate collaborator, helping build her character from day 1. They will always be ohana to us, we will miss them and we wish them both all the best."
In a note posted on Facebook, Kim confirmed the rumors of his departure from the show, thanking the cast and crew of the show and expressing his gratitude for his fans.
“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,” wrote Kim, who had been on the show for seven seasons.
Kim made no direct reference to the alleged pay difference between him and his white co-stars, but he did touch on the difficulties of being an Asian-American actor.
“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,” he said.
“Hawaii Five-0” is not the first instance of a pay gap being made public in Hollywood. Following Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech in 2015, the issue was catapulted to the forefront of the actor landscape. More recently, Natalie Portman has been quoted as saying that women in Hollywood make 30 cents to the dollar, and “Shameless” star Emmy Rossum also demanded equal pay to her costar William H. Macy for her starring role in the show.