Actress Gabrielle Union‘s reported $3 million lawsuit against BET makes sense from her perspective. She’s very busy and in demand, and she’s allegedly being forced to shoot 20 episodes of her popular Being Mary Jane show in a single year, despite contractual promises that she was committed to no more than 13 episodes. The catch is that BET will spread the episodes over two seasons, so technically it’s still fewer than 13 episodes per season for Union. The suit should hinge on whether the language in the contract is specific to shooting episodes — or airing them.
With the suit, Union joins a very short list (possibly one name long) of Hollywood actresses in their 40s who find themselves with too much work. Somewhere in Hollywood it is written that if you are a 42-year-old actress finding yourself having to sue because you’re too much in demand, you are a superstar. That could speak to Hollywood’s evolution as far as its treatment of women. Or maybe trying to take advantage of her contract means Hollywood is playing the same old game.
