Lisa Edelstein's Residuals for Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce? Literally Pocket Change

It's no secret that Hollywood is in the midst of one of the worst crises in its history, all because of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes that have prevented actors and writers from working on upcoming movies and shows and promoting them in any way. Due to the strikes, a lot of anticipated productions are now on hold, which means that 2024 may prove to be one of the least eventful years in movie history.

But while the average moviegoer may be pretty upset about the strikes, the people behind and in front of the cameras definitely need better pay, and here's why.

While iconic actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, and Tom Cruise are all worth millions of dollars, some of the smaller players in the industry aren't, even though they do a lot of work as well. Lisa Edelstein is one of the bigger-name actors who support the strike to help their less successful colleagues.

House's star is currently worth $8 million, but she still feels that producers are basically stealing her money. Edelstein recently revealed how much she received in residuals for Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, a show she starred in for five years and even occasionally wrote for. Be warned, the number you are about to read will make you cringe a little.

'I wrote two episodes of Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, and I just got a residual check for two episodes for 97 cents. That's not really a livable wage, and that's a show that is doing well because it was airing on a streamer somewhere. It's our heart and souls. It's our creativity that's making these people a lot of money, and we should really get paid,' Edelstein said.

Yes, the actress and writer was paid less than a dollar for two episodes of Bravo's hit show, and that fact alone should force more people to support the strike.

Of course, Edelstein was paid generously even before the episodes were made, but the network aired them several times after the initial premiere and made thousands of dollars from commercials. This means the actress should have made some real money from it, but apparently, she hasn't been paid adequately for her work — like many of Hollywood writers and actors out there.

Source: Variety.