Yesterday, we posted a video of Sarah Silverman discussing the gender wage gap issue, in which she references an anecdote of how she was paid less for a stand up gig at the New York Comedy Club than her fellow comedian, Todd Barry. However, the former owner of the New York Comedy Club, Al Martin (now owner of Broadway Comedy Club), has come forward in the above video to dispute Silverman’s claims.
According to Martin, Todd Barry was a booked performer at the New York Comedy Club the night in question, whereas Silverman just showed up and asked if she could score a guest spot to try out some new material. Hence, he would have paid her less because she wasn’t scheduled to perform.
Of course, this comes down to he-said, she-said, but if the comedy club owner’s accusations are on point, this is disappointing to say the least. Despite the fact that many claim that gender wage gap is a myth, it is very much real thing (that I have personally experienced firsthand), and an unfortunate incident like this won’t do anything to further the cause.