Schumer highlights comedy's gender pay gap

Amy demanded more after learning what male colleagues earnt

Amy Schumer demanded more money from Netflix after finding out she was paid less than male comedians

The comic was first offered $11million (£8.58million) for her stand-up show, The Leather Special, which premiered in March.

But after finding out that Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock were paid $20million for their specials, she asked for more. And got it.

A source told Hollywood trade paper Variety: ‘She received significantly more compensation after she raised the question of fairness relative to the Rock and Chappelle deals.’

Responding to the reports on Instagram, Schumer said that although she'd requested her fee be raised, she had not asked for parity with Chappelle and Fox.

‘Thanks for chiming in on what you feel I deserve to be paid,’ she wrote.

‘I believe women deserve equal pay. However I don't believe I deserve equal pay to Chris and Dave. They are legends and 2 of the greatest comics of all time.’

She alos pointed out her achievements, saying: ‘I would like to say that I have been selling out arenas these last couple years, something a female comic has never done. That's a big deal to me.

‘I didn't ask for the same as my friends. I did ask for more than the initial offer. I will continue to work my ass off and be the best performer I can be. The reports of me "demanding" or "insisting" on equal pay to them aren't true.’

She also added two hashtags, referencing criticism levelled at her: #fat and #stealsjokes.

News of Schumer’s pay bump comes just days after the Hollywood pay gap was highlighted in Forbes magazine’s annual earnings list.

The highest paid actress was Emma Stone, who earned $26 million – which would not be enough to place the top ten highest paid male actors. No 10 on that list, Akshay Kumar, pocketed $35.5million.

• Netflix is to mark the 25th anniversary of the influential Def Comedy Jam stand-up show with a one-off special this autumn. Def Comedy Jam 25 will celebrate how long-running HBO series helped launch the careers of black comedians such as Martin Lawrence, Cedric The Entertainer, Dave Chappelle, D.L. Hughley and Tracy Morgan. The series is returning to HBO this December.