AGAIN?

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Co-Writer Adele Lim Leaves Sequel After Dispute Over Pay Equity

“If I couldn’t get pay equity after CRA, I can’t imagine what it would be like for anyone else,” Adele Lim said.

Adele Lim, co-writer with Peter Chiarelli of the smash-hit romcom Crazy Rich Asians, will not return to work on the film’s sequel. In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lim cited pay parity as the reason for her untimely departure.

Sources told THR that Warner Bros. offered $800,000 to $1 million to Chiarelli, who has written several feature films including The Proposal, and $110,000-plus to Lim, who worked exclusively as a TV writer prior to Crazy Rich Asians. Last year, Crazy Rich Asians became an instant box-office success and a major win for Asian representation on the big screen. “If I couldn’t get pay equity after CRA, I can’t imagine what it would be like for anyone else,” Lim told THR, “given that the standard for how much you’re worth is having established quotes from previous movies, which women of color would never have been [hired for]. There’s no realistic way to achieve true equity that way.”

The Malaysian-born Lim has a four-year contract with Disney Animation and is writing the studio’s upcoming film, Raya and the Last Dragon.