It’s “Hawaii Five-0” creator Peter Lenkov’s turn to speak after the show’s stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park left last week, posting on Twitter that CBS offered the pair “unprecedented raises”.
“The truth is this: both actors chose not to extend their contracts,” he wrote. “CBS was extremely generous and proactive in their renegotiation talks. So much so, the actors were getting unprecedented raises, but in the end they chose to move on.”
Kim and Park, who have both been on the show for seven seasons since 2010, negotiated to be paid as much as their costars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan but were unable to reach a deal with CBS. It would almost seem that despite those “unprecedented raises” and CBS’ generosity, they chose to leave and that’s that — the entire issue and principle of equal pay is entirely dismissed!
A source from the TV network told The Hollywood Reporter that the pay dispute had nothing to do with Kim and Park’s race.
The source added the money CBS offered to Kim came within 2% of what his white costars make, minus getting percentage points on the show’s back end that pay O’Loughlin and Caan even more money.
“No one wanted to see them go – they are irreplaceable,” Lenkov wrote. “After being away from her family for seven years, I understood Grace’s decision to leave. There was an opportunity for her to return for a handful of episodes, but for several reasons that didn’t work out. In the end, everyone tried their best to keep the ohana intact.”
Below is the “Hawaii Five-0” showrunner’s full statement:
#H50 #HawaiiFive0 #Hawaii50 #Ohana pic.twitter.com/MEj6a4fLNq
— Peter M. Lenkov (@PLenkov) July 6, 2017
While Park remains silent on the controversy, Kim posted a message to his fans on Facebook on Wednesday.
“By now many of you have heard the news, and I’m sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week,” he said. “Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue.”
CBS also released a follow-up statement on the same day:
“Daniel and Grace have been important and valued members of Hawaii Five-0 for seven seasons. We did not want to lose them and tried very hard to keep them with offers for large and significant salary increases. While we could not reach an agreement, we part ways with tremendous respect for their talents on screen, as well as their roles as ambassadors for the show off screen, and with hopes to work with them again in the near future.”
“Hawaii Five-0” returns for its eighth season on September 29.
Images via Instagram/Daniel Dae Kim
