Mo’Nique Breaks Silence With TS Madison: Watch

Mo’Nique sat down with TV personality, Ts Madison, on Wednesday (Feb. 16) on her FOX Soul show, Turnt Out with TS Madison. In a rare appearance, the Precious star spoke on the ongoing lawsuit she has against Netflix and explained the ordeal between herself, Oprah, and Tyler Perry.

Mo’Nique filed a lawsuit against the streaming service in November 2019, citing “pay discrimination” after they offered her $500,000 for a standup comedy special. Without choosing to negotiate further, it was later revealed they offered Amy Schumer $13 million for her comedy special, thus propelling Mo’Nique’s point. Her willingness to “speak up and speak out” sparked a domino effect with Wanda Skyes being next to open up about her own experiences.

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“I had to stand up and speak up, unapologetically and fearlessly. I had to take that position and that stand for the little girl coming behind me; she won’t have to go through the same fight,” expressed Mo’Nique, adding, “And I say it humbly when you have the resume that I have and, once again, I say it humbly. Once you’ve put in the work, but you get treated like you [should] just be thankful we’re welcoming you to the party.”

Speaking on Perry and Oprah who signed on as executive producers of Precious after it garnered a slew of praise at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Mo’Nique discussed the aftermath and award season. With young children and a husband, she chose not to campaign and not prioritize Hollywood, explaining that she honored her contract with Lee Daniels and if Tyler or Oprah wanted her to do anything outside of her contractual obligation, it would come at a cost.

She says this resulted in her getting blackballed and being labeled as “difficult to work with.” The comedian also claimed Perry lied to David Talbert about her being hard to work with, but Talbert who worked directly with her on Almost Christmas refuted Perry’s claim by saying she was “a joy” to work with. Additionally, Al Sharpton and Kevin Hart were among those who called Perry to speak on Mo’Nique’s behalf.

When later speaking on Perry’s backpedaling request to get Mo’Nique to apologize to him instead of offering her a promised apology after admitting he was wrong for what he’d done, she looked directly in the camera to say, “Often times when it comes to a Black woman speaking up and speaking out, it goes unheard until she dies. Then once she dies, we go back and say, ‘She was right; let’s make a movie about it.'” She proceeded to list talents like Eartha Kitt, Hazel Scott, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Hattie McDaniel. “All of those women took a stand and all of those women left here heartbroken, unhealthy, looking at a community saying, ‘Y’all know I’m right, but why won’t anybody say anything?'”

The 54-year-old did express that she does not harbor hate for Perry or Oprah. Watch the full interview below.

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