Debra Messing put her mouth where the money wasn't on the Globes red carpet Sunday, calling out E! during an E! interview about host Catt Sadler's recent departure from the entertainment outlet after failing to hammer out a contract.
"We want diversity, we want intersectional gender parity, we want equal pay," Messing told E! on the carpet. "I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn't believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I mean, I miss Catt Sadler. We stand with her and that's something that can change tomorrow."
Sadler blamed her departure last month on a "massive pay disparity" between her and male "E! News" anchor Jason Kennedy.
At contract-renewal time, Sadler said, "My team and I asked for what I know I deserve and were denied repeatedly."
On the red carpet, a black-clad Messing said, "We want people to start having this conversation that women are just as valuable as men."
E! previously explained in a statement that it "compensates employees fairly and appropriately based on their roles, regardless of gender. We appreciate Catt Sadler's many contributions at E! News and wish her all the best following her decision to leave the network."
Sadler wrote on her blog that she had wanted to stay at her job but said her decision was made for her.
