Reese Witherspoon reportedly makes $6 million from Netflix and Disney+ dominating the subscription streaming market, creating and popularizing new platforms for entertainment is certainly no easy task.
Earlier this year, film industry mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg Eko alleging Quibi stole technology cemented an especially rough period for the startup.
What’s more, if Katzenberg was hoping for things to gradually get better for Quibi, there’s more bad news on the way. Page Six has revealed that as layoffs reportedly remain a continuous reality at the startup, news has come to light that Reese Witherspoon was allegedly paid $6 million to narrate a Quibi nature documentary called Fierce Queens. The news obviously has not landed well as people’s jobs hang in the balance, and the matter has only been exacerbated by the fact that Fierce Queens is one of the worst performers among the platform’s nearly 200 titles. At the same time, however, Variety is reporting that Katzenberg and Quibi's CEO, Meg Whitman, have insisted that senior executives are taking a 10% pay cut and that layoffs are not occurring. A memo to Quibi staff written by Katzenberg and Whitman reads: “We are not laying off staff as a part of cost-saving measures. We’ve recently added a dozen new Quibi employees.” Quibi also disputed the amount of Witherspoon's salary, calling it "utterly inaccurate."
The duo also stated that Quibi "is in a good financial position" and that the 10% wage cuts are voluntarily being taken by the company's senior executives, "because it's the right thing to do." The concept behind Fierce Queens is a feminist exploration of the animal kingdom, as summed up by the program’s tagline “Imagine a world where females call all the shots.” The lives of female animals are explored, with Witherspoon narrating it all. It’s true that actors who win Oscars can expect a significant raise in pay on the projects they choose, but Witherspoon’s reportedly substantial paycheck is especially ill-timed if Quibi’s prospects are as dire as they appear.
It remains to be seen what will become of Quibi, but the coronavirus pandemic, as well as some questionable business decisions have wreaked havoc for the startup. In of finances, Quibi reportedly has over $1.7 billion in funding. However, the app has now fallen out of Apple’s Top 200 apps and that certainly does not bode well for such an extensive gamble as Quibi – especially only a little more than two months into its launch. There is, of course, a chance that Quibi could turn things around, but as things currently stand, the future for the app looks uncertain.