US TV host Catt Sadler quits E!

SHE is one of the faces of US TV network E!. But Catt Sadler has quit after finding out her male co-host was paid nearly twice as much as her.

CATT Sadler, the anchor of E! News, has quit the US network after finding out her male co-host was paid nearly twice as much money as her.

In a similar turn of evens to Lisa Wilkinson’s shock exit from Nine’s Today, Sadler, 43, said she and her management had “asked for what I know I deserve and were denied repeatedly” by the pop culture broadcaster.

“How can I operate with integrity and stay on at E if they’re not willing to pay me the same as him?,” Sadler said in a statement, referring to her Daily Pop co-host Jason Kennedy, 36.

“Or at least come close? How can I accept an offer that shows they do not value my contributions and paralleled dedication all these years?”

Wilkinson left Today in October over a similar pay dispute, when the Australian TV network refused to match the reported $9 million three-year contract her co-host Karl Stefanovic signed a year ago.

At the time, Nine said it was “unable to meet the expectations of Lisa Wilkinson and her manager on a contract renewal for a further period”.

Hollywood actor Jennifer Lawrence, who previously spoke about the pay issues she faced on the movie American Hustle, has praised Sadler.

“Thank you Catt for sharing your story,” Lawrence said, according to Page Six.

Meantime, Sadler said she had to take a stand: “How can we make it better for the next generation of girls if we do not stand for what is fair and just?

“Know your worth. I have two decades experience in broadcasting and started at the network the very same year as my close friend and colleague that I adore,” Sadler said.

She added: “I so lovingly refer to him as my ‘TV husband’ and I mean it.”

Responding to Sadler’s claims, E! said it paid employees fairly and appropriately based on their roles, regardless of gender.