KUALA LUMPUR — Ms Adele Lim, one of the scriptwriters for Crazy Rich Asians, has quit working on its sequels over pay disputes, according to Hollywood Reporter.

The Los Angeles-based Malaysian discovered a massive pay disparity between herself and the other credited writer, Peter Chiarelli.

Citing sources, the entertainment site said Mr Chiarelli would earn between US$800,000 (S$1.1 million) and US$1 million for writing the scripts for the two sequels while Lim stood to make only US$110,000-plus.

The producers reportedly went back to Ms Lim in February with an offer closer to Mr Chiarelli’s, who volunteered to split his fee with her, but she declined.

“Pete (Chiarrelli) has been nothing but incredibly gracious, but what I make shouldn’t be dependent on the generosity of the white-guy writer. If I couldn’t get pay equity after CRA, I can’t imagine what it would be like for anyone else, given that the standard for how much you’re worth is having established quotes from previous movies, which women of colour would never have been (hired for). There’s no realistic way to achieve true equity that way,” she was quoted as telling Holllywood Reporter.

Ms Lim is currently working on the upcoming Disney movie Raya & The Last Dragon.

Crazy Rich Asians, based on the 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan, follows a young Asian-American woman who meets her boyfriend’s parents and discovers they’re one of the  richest families in Singapore.

The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh and earned US$238 million worldwide. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT