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Stacey Dash, Meredith Vieira Face Off Over Gender Pay Gap in Cringeworthy Interview

Stacey Dash and Meredith Vieira
Stacey Dash and Meredith Vieira got into a tense discussion over the gender pay gap on Vieira's talk show

This hot seat is scalding! Stacey Dash had to answer some tough questions about her political and economic views when she stopped by The Meredith Vieira Show for an interview airing Wednesday, April 29. During their chat, Vieira, 61, noted the Clueless star's opposition to female celebs talking about pay inequality between men and women, which launched a tense (but still very civil) debate. 

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"I feel like it's an excuse. It's the same thing with race. It's an excuse. Stop making excuses," the Fox News contributor said of the chatter over the gender pay gap. "If there are opportunities, seize them and be prepared for them, and be the best, if that's what it takes. If you have to be extraordinary, then be extraordinary." 

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Vieira argued that sometimes that isn't enough. "I feel like we're fighting an uphill battle. When you look at just the numbers, we make 78 cents for every dollar that a man makes," she said. "At the rate we're going, my daughter, who's 22, will be 65 when there's finally pay equality. There's something wrong, something clearly wrong."

Dash seemed to hesitate a moment before venturing, "I don't know if that's true."

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"That's true, that's documented," Vieira replied.

Her guest acknowledged the statistics but said, "I feel like your daughter will be able to make as much money as she wants in her life. Just like you are — I mean, look at you."

Vieira went on to explain that it took a long time for her to be as successful as she is, and said that for many years, she was not getting paid as much as her male colleagues. Asked by Dash if she thought that was because she's a woman, the veteran news anchor said, "I think that had a lot to do with it." 

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"I guess I won't put my fate into anything other than my own action, and taking my destiny in my hands," Dash told the host. "I will not be a victim."

"I'm not saying I'm a victim," Vieira cut in. "I'm pissed off."

"And that's the thing: If you want to be pissed off about it, then be pissed off about it and work harder for it," Dash responded. "Because there is a law passed that we get equal pay."

"Except we don't," Vieira argued back. "We don't. We don't."

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