Mo’Nique is fighting vehemently for both her career and her reputation.
The star’s claim that she was told she had been “blackballed” by Hollywood has not only made headlines but has also birthed a slew of new ones.
Most notable in the midst of the mayhem has been her war of words with ‘Precious’ director Lee Daniels – the man she says informed her of her relegated status.
Unapologetic, Daniels (who is enjoying ample success with his FOX series ‘Empire’), elaborated on his statement by adding that he feels the actress/comedian ultimately “blackballed” herself by bailing on promotional duties.
Still on the rebuttal trail, Mo and her husband/manager Sidney Hicks stopped by V103 radio in Atlanta this week to tell their side of the story.
A fascinating watch, the pair expand on the reasons for rejecting the requests (from the movie studio, Oprah Winfrey, and others) to promote the film abroad.
What’s more, while suggesting that she’s the latest in a long line of “friends” Daniels has turned on, Mo’ revealed that Halle Berry has fallen foul of his favour and that she witnessed him call the ‘Extant’ actress a “b*tch.”
Watch below…
Hmm.
As expressed in our latest TGJ Roundtable, for yours truly, the “blame” ultimately lay at Mo’Nique’s feet for playing herself by being so short-sighted; a stance that still stands today.
That said, context and elaboration are proving vital in this story. Why? Because despite ultimately disagreeing with the argument of Mo’ and her husband, it’s becoming increasingly understandable where they are coming from. It’s an incredibly complex and political situation where concepts of “right” and “wrong” have been gaussian blurred.
Still, even after hearing the actress and her hubby out (and putting that irrelevant Halle Berry comment to the side), it just comes across as a clash between someone who wanted her to “win” in the industry and had the savvy to help her do so (Daniels) and a duo who are too locally minded to accept the assistance – or the rules of the game.
We live in a world that, by way of the internet and e-commerce, has become an interconnected global village. Hence, to see Mo’Nique consistently justify her actions by asserting that she had fulfilled her contractual obligations “in America” sees her come across small-minded and unable to see the bigger picture. Promoting abroad would not only have benefitted the film (which she was a major part of), it would have positioned her on a high platform worldwide – ultimately benefitting her career and its longevity. Sadly, in all these interviews, it’s the one thing that doesn’t seem to be sinking in with her.
We gonna wake up soon and hear that Mo’Nique is dead. #DoNotMessWithTheSystem. She speaks truth tho.
IF MONIQUE PUT AS MUCH ENERGY INTO PROMOTING HER NEW MOVIE AS SHE IS TRYING TO DRAG LEE DANIELS & PRECIOUS SHE MIGHT HAVE HAD A PRETTY DECENT TURN OUT BUT AT THE RATE SHE’S GOING TURN EVERYONE OFF AND KILLING HER CAREER SHE’LL BE LUCKY IF THE BOOTLEG MAN SELLS IT. SMH!!!……..JENNY JONES!!!!
EVIDENTLY MONIQUE DIDN’T GET THE CAREER MEMO THAT HOLLYWOOD IS LIKE VEGAS—-WHAT HAPPENS THERE STAYS THERE. PO’ THANG!!!! THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHY YOU SHOULD SEPARATE FAMILY & BUSINESS…….JENNY JONES!!!
OH HELL NO!!! NOT MY QUEEN HALLE!!!
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Leave Ms. Berry out of this mess!
I can’t stress this enough but I’ll always that I love Mo’Nique. The Parkers is one of those TV Shows (along with The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) that makes me feel stress-free. Now I see she is on a promotional run for her upcoming (self produced/directed) movie which is a good look for her and also she is clearing the air on what so many people wanted to know about her ‘Rise and fall’ out of Hollywood but I don’t see why adding other details about Lee Daniels talking bad about Halle Berry helps her story….. well I don’t get it for now.
You still rep that flop, Tinashe, sis?
My only comment is we sadly make Moe hills into of Mountains and everything gets Blowned up. We get caught up with feelings and we start saying and things we can’t take back.As Black people we’ve had enough of Division, tearing and pulling each other down.Somebody has to be the Adult here. I’m just hope for the Love Of God Lee and Monique can get together and resolve these differences. Were Is The Love
Back to the chitlin circuit you go, Mo.
Who gives a f***? Take this b******* to imdb
Monique was being a bit selfish and greedy here. Come on this would have paved a whole lot of ways for you and your family. I think her good looking husband is controlling her damn mind. Smfh 🙁
My nickname for Solange is, Sponge.
Realms, dimensions, blah blah blah, Crazy spiritual voodoo black people… This ain’t them kinda days MoNique and husband
The husband is too vocal about what is going on in his wife’s career. It sounds like she needs to speak for herself when it comes to certain things or else her husband could be the very person that is holding her back. But i still don’t like lee daniels, he’s very messy, i think he plays dirty…nasty, i got that vibe in his CNN interview like “b*tch if you don’t play that game, watch what happens honey”
Monique…. There is no winning for you in this situation. You are not even a mega star to have an leverage. You wanna go up against Lee Daniels, which in turn means your going against Oprah. What do you have to gain?
I feel like she wants the world to believe she is this extremely nice person, which was unbelievable even when she had her BET show. She is just extra.
She nailing her coffin.
she seems bitter
this is what they call “penny wise, pound foolish”
All this blog space wasted because she was too damn lazy to spend a couple weeks in Cannes for an all-expense paid, first class trip to promote her own career. #ByeMo Short-sighted is right! How dare she compare this to her struggles 20 years ago when she was coming up, leaving her son behind. I have no sympathy because promoting a global smash like Precious for a couple weeks is not the same as leaving your kid behind for years. At that point she already had the stardom she sacrificed so much for, so it’s not the same. Point being: she just didn’t want to fly overseas.
I agree. She was a big part of the film and should have been there to promote, seeing that films not only gross money in the states, but worldwide. They were very generous by flying here first class and upgrading her hotel. I believe her husband played a big part in her not going. This is why I believe celebrities should hire professional managers, who knows what they’re doing and can manage their careers. It’s obvious it wasn’t about staying home with her family, but about the money, by him asking how much would she will be getting paid. When you have a movie/album coming out, you put all your time and energy in promoting it. That’s a sacrifice you and your family will have to make to make it in Hollywood. That was her opportunity to show her diversity, she was known as a comedian who had a TV show, the Parkers. Her talk show was not as big. I believe it was all about the money and her worth, after the oscar win. I love Monique and she bounces back from all of this. Stay humble and remember one movie and an oscar does not mean “A lister”, ask Cuba Gooding Junior.
In life,you can’t afford to do whatever you want…In life you can’t expect to get whatever you want however much you feel you deserve it.You’re in an industry that has its own rules but you want to play the game your way then play victim when things don’t go your way,girl bye.
If you really listen to the details Mo’Nique revealed about the situation, you will notice there is very little daylight between her account of events and Daniels’. She wouldn’t go when Tyler Perry asked her to go. She told Oprah Winfrey over the phone that she (Mo’Nique) was laying in bed, watching cartoons, with her husband and kids and thus would not be going to Cannes. She turned the studio down multiple times as well, the final conversation between the studio and her husband including a request to be paid to appear. Lee Daniels doesn’t need to say another word concerning this. Mo’Nique is doing herself in and showing the world how she got herself blackballed.
She’s only making herself look worse with every interview. And trying to bringing Halle Berry’s name in the mix is just desperate. I remember when she was nominated all the industry chatter was about how she wasn’t promoting the film, thus herself, but that she was still a lock for the Oscar. The Oscar, not a career. She’s done this to herself and I have little sympathy for her.
1, she was and still is the best host for the BET Awards. 2, I seen enough r&b divas to know that the husband/manager is the problem. Why are you passing the phone to him? You passed up Paris to stay in the bed of yoyr husband? I recall her own family going on Oprah saying that sje changed and that he had control over her. And the funny thing is, these men have to business handling business. I bet he didn’t take not one management class, yet you think you know the game? You bit the hand that feed you.