For over four years, documentary filmmakers have been working to bring to light the story of Lacy Thibodeaux, the woman who became the face of NFL cheerleaders after she brought the first class action lawsuit to challenge the gross underpayment of professional football cheerleaders.
Drawing on hours of interviews, filmmaker Yu Gu also features the powerful attorneys who represented Lacy in her groundbreaking lawsuit — LVBH partners Darci Burrell, Sharon Vinick and Leslie Levy.
When Lacy came to LVBH eight years ago, no one would have predicted that the lawsuit LVBH would prosecute for her and the rest of the Raiderettes would change an entire industry, spawning a host of similar suits around the country. Lacy’s powerful stand for fairness and the turns her life has taken since she put her career on the line are a major focus of the one-hour documentary that will debut on PBS’ Independent Lens on Monday, January 4, 2021 at 10pm PST.
As described by PBS, “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem sheds light on the continued fight to end the gender pay gap prevalent throughout the National Football League. For over 50 years, the NFL has employed cheerleaders—women who are lifelong athletes expected to both maintain a peak physical condition and fulfill extreme beauty standards. Many of these athletes have been historically underpaid, with some earning as little as $5 an hour, while others are never paid a salary at all. A Woman’s Work chronicles the journeys of cheerleaders from the Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills, each of whom put their careers on the line to take legal action and fight for fair pay.” View the promo for the documentary through this link.
