Holland Taylor Says "Two and a Half Men" Never Gave Her a Raise in 12 Seasons

Holland Taylor is opening up about her paycheck on“Two and a Half Men,”and the details are rough. On the“Alchemy with Anthony Mason”podcast, the actress who played Evelyn Harper said the sitcom“never paid me very well.”She claimed she was earning what she’d made on a series about eight years earlier, and that she never received a raise despite four Emmy nominations. Her quote:“They never gave me raise. They usually do, just as a courtesy.”

After six seasons as a core cast member, Taylor let her contract expire. She said producers were“astonished”when she declined to renew, and claimed CBS was“trying to protect themselves against giving me a raise of any significance.”She also noted that Jon Cryer reportedly quadrupled his salary when his contract was up. Taylor did return in a guest role for the rest of the show’s 12-season run from 2003 to 2015, saying,“I loved a lot about that show, but they were not full of courtesies.”

Adding to the story, Chuck Lorre’s memoir reveals Hugh Grant was offered $750,000 an episode to replace Charlie Sheen after his exit, and he declined. That detail makes Taylor’s account sting even more: the show clearly had money to spend. So what do you think, should an Emmy nomination come with a bigger paycheck, or is that not how the business works? Sound off in the comments.