Tia Mowry Opens Up On Her Child Stardom, Featuring Unequal Pay And Biracial Stereotypes

Bruce Haring
·2 min read
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Tia Mowry said she faced pay inequality and cultural and biracial stereotypes as a child star in the 1990s.

The former Sister, Sister actress spoke out in the latest edition of her web series, Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix. She said her and her identical twin sister, Tamera, were treated differently on sets in her younger years than those who “weren’t of ethnicity.”

Mowry and her sister began on the sitcom Sister, Sister in 1994 after stints on TV commercials. As a teen, she began to notice things.

“It was very evident to me when I would walk on sets and see how certain stars or actors would be treated who weren’t of ethnicity — better dressing room, better trailer,” she said. “Now, I’m like, more aware what that was, which is a budget. But back then I didn’t know what a budget was. It was so clear how you would see one show that didn’t have a diverse cast that just had a bigger budget, so everything just seemed bigger and better. But when it came to my projects and what I was doing, you actually really visually saw the less-than.”

She also saw the difference on payday, even though Sister, Sister was a hit that ran six seasons.

“I remember once the show became a hit, it’s very normal for you to ask for a raise. That’s what happens, right? People get raises. But it was always so hard for my sister and I to get what we felt like we deserved and our paycheck never equaled our counterparts’ that weren’t of diversity; and that was frustrating. Very, very frustrating.”

During that period, she ran into some racial issues.

“I’ve been told I’m not black enough which was very odd and weird to me. ‘You don’t look Black enough. I think you would fit more of the Latino role.’ It’s like, what? These were casting directors who did not understand the different shades of Black culture.”

Watch the video for the rest of her takes. Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix airs Fridays on the Kin Network, which is available on YouTube and Facebook Watch.

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