Kimiko Glenn or as fans of the hit series would know her as Brook Soso, has gone viral on social media after sharing the royalty statement she received after appearing in 44 out of the show’s 91 episodes.
Glenn has been super outspoken about the issues in the entertainment industry and Hollywood in particular but she showed the issues firsthand when she posted the now viral video of her 44-episode royalty statement where she received a grand total of $27.30USD which barely covers a months Netflix subscription.
@itskimiko “New media” 🙄😩 #oitnb #royalties #paycheck #netflix #orangeisthenewblack #brooksoso #soso #kimikoglenn ♬ original sound – kimiko
In an article in the New Yorker, fellow cast member Beth Dover who played Linda Ferguson for 36 episodes from 2015 to 2019 said that “It actually COST me money to be in seasons 3 and 4 since I was cast local hire and had to fly myself out, etc. But I was so excited for the opportunity to be on a show I loved so I took the hit. It’s maddening.”
@itskimiko @The New Yorker released an article the other day describing many of our cast’s experience on #orangeisthenewblack and the details will astound you. go to my IG for the link 💕💕 #sagaftra #sagaftrastrike #sagstrike #sagaftrastrong ♬ original sound – kimiko
The article goes on to explain that the series “was distributed by Netflix but produced by Lionsgate, which determined the cast’s up-front payments. Emma Myles who played ex-Amish inmate for six seasons says she “was paid scale, sag’s minimum rate, which was under nine hundred dollars per day. “They could and would pay us the absolute bare minimum, and there was really no wiggle room,” she recalled. Her contract was appended with Sag’s 2012 New Media Agreement, which covered projects “produced for initial exhibition via the Internet, mobile devices, or any other platform known or which hereafter may be adopted” (now known as half of TV).”
Glenn also touched on the need for streamers to figure out some sort of compensation for how often her work gets watched and rewatched on the service during her New Yorker interview saying, “My tits live on in perpetuity. I deserve to get paid for as many f***ing streams as that shit gets”.
Sean Gunn from The Gilmore Girls has also come out in support of Glenn’s message when he was quoted by The Hollywood Reporter saying that “Netflix doesn’t pay residuals to the actors, so there’s no sharing in the success of a show with Netflix.”
