Mo’Nique Blames Oprah For Taraji P. Henson’s Mistreatment While Filming ‘The Color Purple’
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Mo’Nique isn’t keeping her foot off Oprah’s neck when it comes to how she reportedly does or does not show up for Black women. After the likes of Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks spoke up about some alleged mistreatment on The Color Purple set, Mo’Nique feels Oprah is to blame.
The 56-year-old comedian told The Root, “Everything was, ‘Didn’t I champion for y’all?’ I was like, ‘Stop it. You didn’t champion for those Black women, for our sisters.’”
Mo’Nique continued, “What [she] did was, ‘We can treat them like we always treat them, who gon’ check me, boo? I’m Oprah Winfrey.’ You know everything should have been done when you showed up.”
During the press run for The Color Purple, Taraji P. Henson was the most vocal regarding pay equity and how the studio seemed to disregard her request for essential items on set like proper transportation and the cast being given separate dressing rooms. Danielle Brooks later praised Oprah and Henson for advocating for them. The Orange Is The New Black star expressed, “I remember when we first came and we’re doing rehearsals, they put us all in the same space. We didn’t have our own dressing rooms at the time. We didn’t have our own food… [Oprah] corrected it for us. [Taraji] was our voice. This was my first studio film. Sometimes you do come in saying, ‘Ok, I’ll take whatever they give me. I’m just happy to be here.’ But [Taraji] spoke up for us.”
However, Mo’Nique doesn’t believe that’s the full story. “Oprah got caught,” she added. “That’s what happened.” The comedian has been at odds with the former talk show host and Tyler Perry since getting blackballed; she’s since reconciled with Lee Daniels.
The Oscar winner also addressed Oprah’s role as producer of The Color Purple and noted, “So, when Oprah Winfrey sits at the helm […] if they were hand-picked for that movie, those women should have been taken care of from the [beginning].”
In regards to the wage gap issue, Mo’Nique revealed that she did reach out to Henson, as this is a topic she’s been discussing for years. Recently, she and her onscreen daughter Countess Vaughan broke their silence against their unpaid residuals from The Parkers—this lawsuit has yet to be resolved.
Mo’Nique didn’t confirm to The Root whether she and Henson actually spoke, but the Almost Christmas actress did consider the Hidden Figures star to be a “beautiful soul” and expressed that it “pained me to see her going through that.”
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