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We'd like to think of the new 90210 reboot as America's answer to the acclaimed Canadian bildungsroman Degrassi: The Next Generation: a teen soap that "goes there" while aged refugees from the original cast cavort in the background and compare faces. Sadly, one of those taut, cheek-implanted visages might be missing from the new 90210 lineup; while Tori Spelling had been negotiating to appear on the show midseason, she's stormed off after learning that producers totally like Brenda and Kelly more. Says Nikki Finke:

Insiders tell me that Tori was hired to reprise her role as fashion boutique owner Donna Martin for just "$10,000-$20,000" per episode. But then Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty were signed for "$35,000-$50,000" a show. When Tori found out her former co-stars were getting paid way more than she was, she got pissed and demanded equal pay.

But the network suits have refused. So now my sources tell me that Tori has pulled out of the series, which premieres with a 2-hour special on September 2nd. "She thought she deserved parity, and she's got a point," an insider explained to me. That's because, for some bizarre reason, Tori is a reality show ratings hit by Oxygen's low standards. (Last Tuesday's Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood was the most watched telecast in the history of that execrable women's cable channel as 1.4 million viewers saw the episode where Tori gave birth to her 2nd child — which actually took place 5 months ago.)

Yes, the 90210 producers ought to take note: Tori Spelling is Oxygen's biggest draw, narrowly beating out all those highly-rated Shamwow commercials. She might not be worth Shannen and Jennie money, but can't she at least claim parity with a Mark D. Espinosa?

[Photo credit: AP]