Patricia Richardson says Disney canceled ‘home improvement’ over equal pay request

Patricia Richardson‘ calls out her former network for the murder of ‘Home Improvement’ and claims she was not treated the same as Tim Allen — and her demand for equal pay ended the show.

The actress – who played loving TV mom Jill Taylor in all eight seasons of the show – got to work with the Los Angeles Times to discuss the hit ’90s sitcom… and she says she decided to give Disney the middle finger with her latest contract application.

The way Patricia tells it… she made it clear during season eight that she had no intention of making a ninth season – she said the whole experience had become a fight and claimed that she and Allen knew it was time to to end the show.

Then, with a few months to go, the network tried to make an offer the stars couldn’t refuse – a 25-episode ninth season in which TA would make $2 million per episode and PR would make $1 million per episode. Allen grabbed the opportunity with both hands… but Patricia didn’t want to take the chance.

In criticism of her employer, Patricia says she decided to ask for the same pay as Allen, which she knew they would never agree to…seemingly her way of pointing out that they had never treated their two stars the same.

Producers instead decided to close the show – which Richardson says caused tension between her and Tim… with whom she admits she has a complicated relationship.

Patricia believes Allen’s politics have damaged the show’s legacy in the eyes of Hollywood. That said, she also stands up for him when push comes to shove Pamela Anderson to claim he flashed her …adding that this isn’t the Tim she knows.