Former Disney and Nickelodeon star Giovonnie Samuels revealed on Monday, July 24, she hadn’t been paid for her iconic work on shows like All That and has yet to receive her residuals for Bring It On All or Nothing, which is why she joined the writer’s (and actor’s) strike.
In an emotional video, Samuels shared with her followers that supporting actors were nickeled and dimed while the prominent actors were paid big bucks.
“That’s why we’re striking,” the All That actress said. “I’m asking for a livable wage. I’m asking for health insurance. You have no idea how hard it is. We just came out of COVID, and now we’re going into a strike. I used my 401k, my nest egg, my savings to survive COVID. I don’t know what money y’all think I have, or I’m saving up something. No…between family members stealing from me or doing a show where they didn’t pay me, or now, I’m fighting for residuals.”
She continued, “Executives don’t want to give me a dime. I got responsibilities and things that I got to take care of. We got back to school coming. I got to put my son in a private school. ‘You ain’t got to do all that. You can put him in a public school.’ I can’t put him in public school because when I did, they was picking on him because of me. The parents were jealous because I was on TV and famous, and they told their kids to pick on my kid. So, I had to take him out and put him in a decent school.”
Samuels said she didn’t own a house and “barely” owned her car.
“I don’t know what money y’all think I have, but I don’t.”
She revealed she had two jobs but didn’t make enough money to pay for procedures out of pocket. She concluded, “This is why I strike.”
In a video posted last week, Samuels explained she was one of the lucky actresses during the 2007 to 2008 writer’s strike to receive residual checks and could live from them.
Additionally, she could afford health insurance through the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
However, when streaming services evolved, she lost health insurance and hasn’t had SAG’s health insurance since then.
She didn’t qualify for Medi-Cal because she made too much but not enough to pay out of pocket.
This shocked viewers since the actress is highly known for her work in Bring It On: All Or Nothing, which became popular on Netflix, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many assumed actors got paid big bucks every time films streamed. However, she was only paid $1,000 for that year.
To prove that it wasn’t just because the movie was old, she showed a check for a film she did in 2020, revealing only the $6.25 she received from streaming.
Samuels shared in another video that she never received residual checks for All That.
Samuels is known for her role as Betty Jane on That’s So Raven, “Country Cousins.” She played Nia Moseby in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. And she played Kirresha in Bring It On: All or Nothing.
