Mo’Nique slammed Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry and once again, Lee Daniels, in front of a cheering audience over the weekend. The comedian was very passionate and used an excessive amount of explicit and disparaging language when discussing being on the outskirts of Hollywood.
“I was not blackballed. I was white balled…. Thank you, Mr. Lee Daniels. Thank you, Mr. Tyler Perry. Thank you, Ms. Oprah Winfrey.”
Mo’Nique’s performance took place at the Apollo Theater in New York City on Saturday night. Due to the amount of profanity in the clip, Mo’Nique’s video can be seen here .
“See, I know they like to say, ‘Mo’Nique, you talk too motherf***** much.’ It would kill me not to say the real s***. You are not paying me equally. You are not treating me fairly, so you can suck my d*** if I had one.”
In 2015, after Monique took home an Academy Award. After winning such an award, Mo’Nique alleged that the monetary amount offered for new roles were extraordinarily low. Mo’Nique revealed to the Hollywood Reporter that she was informed by Lee Daniels, the director of Precious and producer of Empire , that she had been “ blackballed .”
“I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago… And he said to me, ‘Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed.’
The Academy Award-winning actress said she was told the alleged blackballing was due to her behavior during awards season when the movie was up for consideration in 2009. Mo’Nique adamantly claims she was blackballed after Precious because she “didn’t play the game.”
“And I said, ‘I’ve been blackballed? Why have I been blackballed?’” she continued. “And he said, ‘Because you didn’t play the game.’ And I said, ‘Well, what game is that?’ And he gave me no response.”
Roger Friedman of the Hollywood Reporter noted that Mo’Nique had been demanding payments for personal appearances that were meant to promote the film.
“Rumors have been swirling for some time that the actress-comedienne … has been demanding payments for personal appearances to promote the movie. One source close to the production insists that Mo’Nique asked for $100,000 at one point to show up with the rest of the cast.”
A source told the New York Daily News, “ Mo’Nique said she signed on to do this film for a small amount of money and said she didn’t care about ‘no Oscar’ — all that mattered was ‘those Benjamins!’ Due to Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry were backing the film, the actress felt as though there should be a budget to pay for her promotional duties. In the past, Mo’Nique admitted that there may be some truth to claims that she can be difficult to work with.
“There have been people that have said, ‘Mo’Nique, she can be difficult… They could probably be right. One of the networks said to [Lee] that I was ‘really difficult to work with.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s funny, because I’ve never worked with them, but okay.’”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocsg63kvvCs
Mo’Nique then went on to say that whoever is saying she’s difficult to work with are “heartless, ruthless” or, treat others as if they are “worthless.”
“Whoever those people are who say, ‘Mo’Nique is difficult,’ those people are either heartless, ruthless or treat people like they’re worthless… And that’s unacceptable. They’re set to say, ‘Mo’Nique is tactless, she’s tacky.’”
This is the second time Mo’Nique has slammed Daniels who directed Precious for halting her career. Winfrey and Perry served as producers on the film released in 2009. That earned the comedian an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mary Lee Johnston. Winfrey and Perry were executive producers on Precious , and Winfrey got a role in The Butler that Mo’Nique has said she was offered and then denied.
Daniels told CNN in 2015 that Mo’Nique — whom he called “brilliant” — was hurt by “unreasonable demands” she made during the Precious campaign.
“I told her, ‘You have to thank the producers of the film, you have to thank the studios… And I think she didn’t understand that, and I said, ‘People aren’t going to respond well if you don’t.’”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Monique said she was offered major roles including movies like The Butler (a role that Oprah Winfrey played), television shows like Empire , and Lee Daniel’s upcoming Richard prior biopic.
“Each of those things that he offered me was taken off the table. ( Laughs .) They all just went away. But that’s just part of the business, you know? I can’t be upset at anybody, ’cause life is too good. It’s just what it is.”
Daniels said Mo’Nique is to blame for her failed relationships in Hollywood, adding she “soured her relationship” with Hollywood with her demands on Precious .
“I consider her a friend… I have and will always think of her for parts that we can collaborate on however, the consensus among the creative teams and powers thus far were to go another way with these roles.”
In speaking with TMZ regarding her onstage comments, Mo’Nique, alongside her husband Sidney Hicks , said that everything she says “comes from my heart” and cited late comedian Richard Pryor for inspiring her to speak her truth.
[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]