Stacey Dash: gender pay gap is 'an excuse'

Things got a little heated between Stacey Dash and Meredith Vieira when the Clueless actress stopped by The Meredith Vieira Show and shared her opinions about gender wage inequality. Dash took issue with a recent video featuring Rita Wilson that highlighted women’s struggle for equal pay in Hollywood, Washington and Fortune 500 companies.

“I feel like it’s an excuse. It’s the same thing with race, you know, it’s an excuse,” Dash said. “Stoping making excuses. If there are opportunities, seize them and be prepared and be the best if that’s what it takes. If you have to be extraordinary, be extraordinary.”

The comments sparked a debate between Dash and Vieira, who said her own 22-year-old daughter would be 65 years old before there would be gender equality.

“I guess I won’t put my fate into anything other than my own action and taking my destiny in my own hands,” Dash said. “I will not be a victim.”

“I’m not saying I’m a victim,” Vieira replied. “I’m pissed off.”

This is not the first time Dash has voiced her opinions about gender pay inequality. In an interview with Fox & Friends earlier this year, the actress said she was “appalled” by Patricia Arquette’s rally for wage equality during her Oscar acceptance speech.

“In 1963, Kennedy passed an equal pay law. It’s still in effect. I didn’t get the memo that I didn’t have any rights,” Dash said during the interview. “I miss the glamour, the elegance, the class, the majesty of the Oscars.”