Catt Sadler Opens Up About Pay Discrepancy At E!

The former TV host is continuing to speak out against the gender pay gap.

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, Catt Sadler appeared on The View and got real about her decision to leave the E! network after the celeb news heavyweight allegedly refused to pay her the same salary as her male co-host. Recalling how a female executive had given her the heads up that she was being underpaid, Sadler told the ladies of The View that she'd hoped to use that information to snag a better deal during negotiations, during which she and her team asked "for what was right."

Unfortunately, as we all know, Sadler didn't get the salary she wanted, though she apparently really thought that the network would have made an effort to give her equal pay. Regarding how she'd threatened to quit if she didn't receive the same or a similar salary as her male co-host, Jason Kennedy, Sadler said, "They didn't think I would." She explained, "I think honestly ... I think the perspective was, 'Oh, 43-year-old mom of two, been here how many years. She ain't gonna [walk]. Where she going?'"

Sadler noted that if she'd taken E!'s offer, it would have gone against who she was and what she believed in — and it would have contributed to an even bigger problem. "I knew that if I settled, I wouldn't do the network any good. I wouldn't do the fans, the people, the audience any good," she said.

As Nicki Swift previously reported, Sadler left E! in December 2017. In a statement announcing her exit, she revealed that she'd been making half of Kennedy's salary, despite having worked at the network for the same amount of time and for doing "similar jobs, if not the same job."

E! responded to Sadler's statement by releasing one of their own, in which the network denied that the TV host's smaller salary was due to her sex. "Jason Kennedy and Catt Sadler had different roles, and therefore different salaries," E! executive Frances Berwick told Variety at the time. "Catt was focused on daytime; Jason Kennedy is on prime evening news, plus red carpet. Our employees' salaries are based on their roles and their expertise, regardless of gender. So we wish Catt well, but I hope that sets the record straight on that."

Fortunately, despite the trouble she faced with E!, Sadler already has "a lot in the works," regarding her future. She revealed on The View that she plans on developing new projects to expose gender inequality in the workplace. She'll also be covering a major upcoming awards show as part of a brand new job. "I'm returning to the red carpet for the Vanity Fair Oscars party," she announced on the daytime talk show.

Sounds like Sadler has big things ahead of her. We can't wait to see her back in action again!