Patricia Richardson has finally lifted the veil on the significant pay gap she faced with Tim Allen during their hit sitcom, "Home Improvement," revealing how this discrepancy ultimately led to the show's demise. In a candid interview with the Los Angeles Times commemorating the 25th anniversary of the series finale, the 73-year-old actress shared that Allen had been offered a whopping $2 million per episode to reprise his role for a ninth season - a sum that doubled what the studio had intended to pay her.
Richardson recounted that prior to wrapping up the eighth season, she and Allen had mutually agreed that "Home Improvement" had run its course. The departure of long-serving directors had left the pair in an awkward position, having to explain their well-established characters to a new crop of directors. She confided to her friends that "there's not enough money in the world to get me to do a ninth year. The show is over. It needs to end." Allen, according to Richardson, concurred until he laid eyes on Disney's lucrative offer.
Feeling betrayed, Richardson capitalized on Allen's acceptance to bring an abrupt end to the series. She boldly demanded the same offer, fully aware that her request would be denied. "I knew that Disney would in no way pay me that much," she confessed. "That was my way to say 'no' and was a little bit of a flip-off to Disney. I'd been there all this time, and they never even paid me a third of what Tim was making, and I was working my ass off. I was a big reason why women were watching."
Richardson described the atmosphere on the set during the final season as tense, with both leads harboring resentment towards each other. Allen was angry over Richardson's refusal to return, while she felt betrayed by Allen's acceptance of the lucrative offer without considering her.
"I was furious with Tim because he abandoned me, leaving me as the sole dissenter, and it made me feel wretched and like the villain in the story," she confessed. "He, in turn, was enraged at me for walking away." Representatives of Allen declined to offer any comment when contacted by Us Weekly.
Recalling the rumors surrounding a potential Home Improvement reunion in March, Richardson firmly denied any such possibility. Allen had previously hinted that he and his co-star Richard Karn were open to reprising their famous roles as the hosts of Tool Time. "He never approached me, nor did he reach out to [our on-screen son] Jonathan [Taylor Thomas], who I keep in touch with," she revealed on an episode of the "Back to the Best" podcast. "One day, I called Jonathan and asked, 'Has he mentioned this to you?' And he replied, 'No, why is he going around telling everyone we're all on board without even talking to you or me? I find that rather odd.'"
