Catt Sadler leaves E! after learning her male co-host gets paid twice more than her

Catt Sadler, the Daily Pop host on E! News will be leaving the media house after learning that her male co-host, Jason Kennedy, earns twice more than her salary despite the fact that they resumed at the same time and do the exact same work.

Catt Sadler, 43, who began working with E! 12 years ago, told People that she celebrated her last day with the major network on Tuesday and this is because she found out how much more Kennedy was being paid though they were on the same level.

“Up until this point, I mean it really has been a dream job. Literally a dream job. I’m from Indiana, born and raised, and I had my sights set on E! and I’ve seen the world. I’ve had the best experiences. I’ve gotten incredibly close with all of my coworkers. It’s like a family here and it’s been beautiful for the majority of my run. I pinch myself every day the job that I get to do. I have so much fun. It has almost been surreal. But then, this year happened,” Sadler said.

The single mother of two revealed how this year she was asked to take on more responsibility in her role at E!. This included hosting the two-hour live daytime show “Daily Pop” and also hosting E! News a majority of nights. Kennedy also serves as co-host of E! News as well as a correspondent for red carpet coverage.

“So I inherited a lot more responsibility and more work hours and what not,” she added.

Sadler’s contract was also coming to an end this year. However, executives asked to extend her contract. Sadler says she was considering accepting to stay on with them until she found out her male equivalent was making double her salary for doing the exact same job

“I was informed and made aware that my male equivalent at the network who I started with the same year and have come up with doing essentially similar jobs, if not the same job, wasn’t just making a little bit more than me but was making double my salary and has been for several years.”

She then asked to be paid the same as her co-host and friend, Jason Kennedy but E! refused.

“That was really hard to swallow, but you know information is supposed to be power and when my team began negotiations knowing what we knew, that was the barometer in which I expected to be paid, based on the law and based on what I know to be fair. And what I believe in my heart of hearts is reasonable,” she explained.

“Not only did [E!] refuse to pay me as much as my male counterpart, but they didn’t come close — nowhere close, not even remotely close.”

Sadler explained how “insulting” it was to learn that 36-year-old Kennedy was being paid so much more than her.

“It’s almost insulting because you know you work really hard. I’m a single mom of two kids. I’ve given my all to this network. I’ve sacrificed time away from my family and I have dedicated my entire career to this network. And when you learn something like that, it makes you feel very small and underappreciated and undervalued,” she shares.

Sadler said though “it’s heartbreaking”, it’s not Kennedy’s “fault.”

“Jason Kennedy is one of my best friends in the whole wide world. He is like a brother to me. And in no way do I want this to reflect poorly on him.

“He’s devastated, I think, and I think he believes that this is a great loss for the network. He does not want to see me go. Jason is a class act … It’s important that people don’t vilify him because he isn’t the problem — the system’s the problem, the structure’s the problem. And I really do mean that. Because that’s been a hard part of this whole thing because I love him dearly. And to be honest, he has been such a champion for me in every sense. But it’s not his decision.”

A spokesperson for E! defend the network and Kennedy.

“E! compensates employees fairly and appropriately based on their roles, regardless of gender. We appreciate Catt Sadler’s many contributions at E! News and wish her all the best following her decision to leave the network,” the spokesperson said.

Sadler took to Twitter where she told her followers her last day was on Tuesday.

“It’s true. Today will be my last day on #DailyPop and @enews. I hope you’ll tune in so I can thank you for the memories. I love you guys SO much it hurts.” Sadler tweeted out on Tuesday.

“You’ve all got me crying like a baby,” she added in a second message. “I’m reading every single message. I will respond to them all after I make it through this difficult day. I love you so much and your words are providing me so much comfort. xx See you on @enews later this eve with my friend @JasonKennedy1.

”My gratitude runs so deep. My thank you to you the viewers on @enews tonight. I hope you’ll watch my farewell at 7 and 10:30p with @JasonKennedy1 xx

Sadler says she is focused on being “an agent of change”.

“This obligation that I now have, which very much informed my decision that I too have to be an agent of change. If I stay and do the easy thing, I don’t serve myself and I don’t serve every other female in the world,” says Sadler

“It’s like I now feel inspired and empowered by these women before me who refused to be silent,” says Sadler, referencing Jennifer Lawrence, Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou. “And I now join them in what I believe to be a very important movement towards creating change.”

Source: E! News