{"id":2451962,"date":"2026-06-09T20:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2451962"},"modified":"2026-06-09T20:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:45:14","slug":"tahj-mowry-skipped-a-smart-guy-episode-at-12-years-old-over-salary-demands-costar-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/tahj-mowry-skipped-a-smart-guy-episode-at-12-years-old-over-salary-demands-costar-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Tahj Mowry skipped a \u201cSmart Guy \u201depisode at 12 years old over salary demands, costar says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Tahj Mowry skipped an episode of <em>Smart Guy<\/em> over salary demands, according to costar Omar Gooding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Gooding believes that the negotiations played a role in the sitcom&#8217;s cancellation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <em>Baby Boy<\/em> alum concedes that Mowry deserved a raise, but he took issue with the way that his leading man went about trying to get it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During a salary negotiation, <em>Smart Guy<\/em> star Tahj Mowry was apparently a missing guy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As a preteen, Mowry, now 40, headlined the WB sitcom as child prodigy T.J. Henderson. <em>Smart Guy<\/em> was canceled in 1999 after a three-season run, and Mowry&#8217;s former costar Omar Gooding says part of the reason was his young leading man&#8217;s tactics in angling for a raise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;They should have paid him more, because he was the lead,&#8221; <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C1WHwz945uQ&amp;t=2s\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Gooding told The Art of Dialogue;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Gooding told The Art of Dialogue&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Gooding told <em>The Art of Dialogue<\/em><\/a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s not his fault that the show got canceled&#8230;directly. But sometimes you&#8217;ve got to bite that bullet, and it sucks. We all agreed to do the show, and we knew we&#8217;d all get paid the same. It&#8217;s tough, when you&#8217;re the lead, there&#8217;s responsibility.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Gooding shared that Mowry, who turned 13 the day after the series finale, allegedly decided to negotiate for a new contact &#8220;halfway&#8221; through season 3.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;No, you got to say &#8216;f&#8212; this&#8217; before the season starts,&#8221; said Gooding, who played Mo, the lovably gullible best friend of T.J.&#8217;s older brother. &#8220;You&#8217;re disrupting too much s&#8212;. Make your stand before the season, then there may be time to negotiate. But if the season&#8217;s already going, now you&#8217;re f&#8212;ing s&#8212; up. Now you&#8217;re causing problems that could have been avoided. So they&#8217;re like, &#8216;Well, how about we just cancel your show?'&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Omar Gooding; Tahj Mowry<br \/>Credit: Hollywood To You\/Star Max\/GC Images; JC Olivera\/FilmMagic<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Season 3&#8217;s &#8220;Get a Job&#8221; is the only episode in which Mowry did not appear, and Gooding shared that the cast turned up to the table read and was told he wasn&#8217;t there &#8220;because of money issues and contract.&#8221; Gooding dismissed the suggestion that the rest of the actors should have backed Mowry and sat out as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We didn&#8217;t feel the same way,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;Sure, it was unfair. We&#8217;re on the WB, we&#8217;re a Black sitcom, one of the last, you&#8217;re fortunate. I think you make your demands, you make yourself known, but then you show up to work, bro. You got to do your job. &#8216;No? Okay, no more, that simple.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Entertainment Weekly<\/em> has reached out to Mowry&#8217;s representatives for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;EW Dispatch newsletter&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><strong><em>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Last year, Mowry reflected on the struggles that came with being a kid who is the star of his own show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I&#8217;ll never forget. It was the first day of sixth grade,&#8221; <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/tahj-mowry-recalls-difficulty-returning-to-school-after-smart-guy-11692742\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:he said;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;he said&quot;}\" class=\"link \">he said<\/a>. &#8220;I had all the friends in the world, went to go shoot three episodes of <em>Smart Guy<\/em>, came back \u2014 everyone hated me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He continued, &#8220;And I was like, &#8216;What is happening?&#8217; So those dynamics were hard, but I&#8217;m grateful for them because I was that kid that got made fun of at school. I was that kid that had to stand up for myself at school. And so I&#8217;m able to have sympathy. I was able to grow in that way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In recent years, Mowry has expressed interest in a <em>Smart Guy<\/em> revival, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.purewow.com\/news\/tahj-mowry-smart-guy-muppets-mayhem\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:teasing;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;teasing&quot;}\" class=\"link \">teasing<\/a>, &#8220;I have a really cool, fresh take and idea on how I would do it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/tahj-mowry-skipped-a-smart-guy-episode-at-12-years-old-over-salary-demands-costar-says-11994213\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Entertainment Weekly;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Entertainment Weekly&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Tahj Mowry skipped an episode of Smart Guy over salary demands, according to costar Omar Gooding. Gooding believes that the negotiations played a role in the sitcom&#8217;s cancellation. The Baby Boy alum concedes that Mowry deserved a raise, but he took issue with the way that his leading man went about trying to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2451963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[343656,481711,471876],"class_list":["post-2451962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-omar-gooding","tag-salary-negotiation","tag-tahj-mowry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Tahj-Mowry-skipped-a-Smart-Guy-episode-at-12-years.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2451962"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2451964,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451962\/revisions\/2451964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2451963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2451962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2451962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2451962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}