Holland Taylor ditched Two And A Half Men because she wasn't paid enough

Holland Taylor is explaining what led to her decreased screen time in the later seasons of Two And A Half Men. “I stopped being under contract,” Taylor said during an appearance on the podcast Alchemy With Anthony Mason. “So, in other words, they would say, ‘Can you do a guest appearance at the end of March?’ And I would say, ‘No, I cannot,’” she said. “I only did it if I wanted to do it.” On Two And A Half Men, Taylor portrayed Evelyn Harper, the self-obsessed mother of Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan Harper (Jon Cryer). Taylor, who earned Emmy nominations for her supporting role in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2010, said it was “absolutely” her choice to stop being under contract for the CBS sitcom—and her decision surprised the network. “In fact, they were astonished because when your contract runs out is when people usually back up the truck,” she said. “And they never paid me very well on that show. I was paid on that show what I had made on a series like eight years before or something. I got four Emmy nominations, and they never gave me a raise.”