Orange Is The New Black star Kimiko Glenn blasts Netflix over pay for nude scenes

Kimiko Glenn, who is known for her role as Brook Soso in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, is speaking out against the streaming giant for its unfair pay amid the current SAG-AFTRA strike, reports Decider.

The actress, who appeared in 44 episodes of the hit show, posted her royalties statement online, showing her disappointing $27.30 (NZ$43.59) profit. Glenn went on to say that many of the show’s cast had to keep working second jobs to make ends meet.

In a video on TikTok, Glenn responded to comments that seemed to brush off her small paycheque. Some social media users validated the measly sum by stating that she and the cast were paid upfront for their work on the series.

“Whether or not we got paid upfront — my t**s live on in perpetuity. I deserve to get paid for as many f***ing streams as that s*** gets,” she said, referencing her various nude scenes in the series.

“Second of all — we did not get paid very well. Ever. And when I say, ‘Did not get paid very well,’ you would die.”

Glenn went on, “People were bartenders still. People had their second jobs still. They were f***ing famous as s***, like internationally famous, couldn’t go outside, but had to keep their second jobs because they couldn’t afford to not. We couldn’t afford cabs to set.”

Even though the actress made $900 per “day of shooting” — which doesn’t seem like scraping the barrel — the actress shed light on just how much she made in total.

“Take away taxes, commissions — that nets you about $450 (NZ$718.53) for that one day of shooting,” she added. “And assuming you work four days a month — we’re talking $1800 for a month’s work, and you live in New York City. That doesn’t make rent.”

Glenn says they “started getting taxed as if [they] made that episodic rate in one day” once their pay started increasing — which often deducted 55 per cent of their paycheque What’s more, they had to pay 20 per cent in commissions to their agent and manager, 5 per cent if they had an attorney, and $2000-$6000 (NZ$3193-NZ$9580) per month for publicists with “no guarantee for any press coverage”.

“There’s a lot of misplaced outrage in these comments,” she concluded. “$900 [NZ$1437] for one day of shooting is epically low for someone who is recurring on a hit television show, where they are contractually obligated to stay available for 6 months out of the year.”

This comes after the SAG-AFTRA strike started last week. The union and studios couldn’t come to an agreement following negotiations regarding pay. By talking about her experience, Glenn explained that she didn’t want to “out” the series that put Netflix originals series on the map for “some injustice”, but rather create more awareness around a larger problem that “isn’t unique” to the streaming giant.

“The problem was — we were the first of its kind. So everyone was sort of learning as they went,” she said. “Now it’s been 10 years and SAG still hasn’t really stepped up to the plate and created a deal in which it’s protecting its actors and properly compensating their actors. It’s only good business for streamers to not pay if they don’t have to. The fight really is to negotiate a great deal.”

Decider has contacted Netflix for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.