“The game is different for women.”
The stinging quotes above were lifted from a recent interview with legendary Tony Award-nominated star Sheryl Lee Ralph. The actress, best known for her roles on Broadway’s ‘Dreamgirls’ and later TV’s ‘Moesha,’ recently took to Access Hollywood Live to dish on the ever-controversial report that Academy Award-winning actress Mo’Nique had been “blackballed” by Hollywood since nabbing the 2010 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (for ‘Precious’).
Ralph, 58, briefly shared TV time with Mo’Nique aboard the Urban family comedy ‘Moesha’ and is now sharing some harsh advice for her friend regarding the matter. Hear her stance below:
“What’s interesting about that is, she didn’t campaign. I wonder, do you think that they would blackball Tom Hanks for not campaigning for a movie? The game is different for women.”
“We don’t know what was going on with that person,” Ralph said. “She might have been in a state of her mind where she said, ‘I cannot go out there and do this with all these people without causing harm to myself.’ We don’t know what was going on in her mind.”
“A whole lot of actors are difficult. And there’s a whole lot of actors who are mean and terrible, but they work all the time,” Ralph said. “It goes back to who likes you, who wants to be in your kind of crazy company. Who wants to give you money in hopes they’ll get something back on the return on your madness. And sometimes you just need to shut up, sit there and look pretty … But I think this is a setup for a comeback.”
“Now, when she comes back she better be as tiny as you…She don’t need to be Mo’Nique anymore, because obviously what she was did not work. So she better come back brand new. That’s what they’re waiting for. And if a big-time producer says to you, ‘You have been blackballed,’ what he is really doing is looking at you and saying, ‘You ain’t never working with me again.’”
So I had a thought between personal preference and being prejudice; where is the line drawn. This thought originated from when I ask my mom why she wasn’t watching HGTV and she said she wasn’t watching the channel because Ellen’s show was on and because she a lesbian (which conflicts with her Christian beliefs). Then I thought “Well what if a person didn’t want to select someone for a job or whatever not because of qualification purposes but because their race doesn’t go with their personal preference. Or in other words my mother wasn’t buying into Ellen’s product because she’s a lesbian, just as CEO won’t higher a persons outside their race for a product because of their race differs from their own.
no lol sometimes you need to speak up !
Yeah that too, squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Not in Hollywood.
Hollywood doesn’t work like that. The unspoken rule in tinseltown is Play the Game or Go Home.
FROM WHAT IS BEING SAID IT’S HER HUSBAND/MANAGER THAT BECAME THE ISSUE WITH THE NASTY ATTITUDE AFTER SHE WON THE OCSAR. SOMETIMES ARTIST AND ACTORS GIVE THEIR MANAGERS/AGENTS TOO MUCH POWER ESP WHEN THEY ARE THEIR SPOUSE WHICH MAKES THOSE PEOPLE FORGET THE ARTIST AND/OR ACTOR IS THE STAR NOT THEM AND THEY GET THE BIG HEAD AND A BAD ATTITUDE. A LOT OF BS LIKE THIS HAPPENS BEHIND THE ARTIST/ACTORS BACK AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA THESE PEOPLE ARE RUNNING PEOPLE AWAY AND THEIR CAREERS IN THE GROUND. REMEMBER TLC FOUND OUT PEBBLES WAS DOING THIS EXACT THING TO THEIR CAREER. I THINK IF SHE FIRES THE HUSBAND AND GET A SUPER HOLLYWOOD FRIENDLY/LIKED MANAGER ALONG WITH A HUMBLE ATTITUDE SHE’LL BE BACK IN THE GAME………JENNY JONES!!!
Well, Sheryl is telling the truth.
Preach ! And the Church said …. Amen
Sheryl is being a bit harsh with the weight comments but it’s the truth. it’s super hard for black actresses to find decent roles but how will she compete for those small opportunities in shallow and vain Hollywood with her size? I feel for Mo’Nique 🙁
Of course Tom Hanks wouldnt be blackballed because he paid his dues. He is a legend. And a legend can put out a film and not promote. Monique doesnt have that luxury yet.
And I’ll bet you think him being a white man has nothing to do with it…
Denzel Washington can also say his peace and not be affected as well just like Tom Hanks, because Denzel too has paid his dues. Monique forgot that she’s a woman & black and needs to behave accordingly when it comes to these Movies and the promotion that goes with them. When you have Legends like Meryl Streep, Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and other A-listers like them campaigning for Movies, it really looks bad when a Monique who is below them in the field thinks she can choose to decline like she’s all that. Monique’s problem is that she think she’s way more than what she really is in Hollywood and paid the price. She missed out on some major TV Drama Series like Scandal, Empire, Power, How to Get away with Murder and so on… and went BROKE blaming Tyler Perry for her Financial Demise after 10yrs of her being Bitter and Badmouthing Powerhouses like Oprah, Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels and anyone who calls her out for being so unclassy & messy. Her husband-manager is behind it all. She did not join the Campaigning for the Movie to promote it but wanted MORE money after it was a Hit. She GOT PAID WHAT they Negotiated for the movie “Precious” and that’s that.
Mo’nique could do no wrong in my eyes. I was and still to this very am enamored by the cast on The Parkers. Anyways, the attitude perception comments might be true.
But this lady is being a little bit abrasive with her comments about Mo’nique saying she should come back looking thin.
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The Parkers FOREVER! 😀
http://youtu.be/Kn7fdtgjX6o
Umm…Sheryl Lee Ralph has got to be older than 47 years old, debuting in Dreamgirls in 1981 and all…
Now, please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
They said she’s 58 not 47
She’s exactly right. If you already know it’s extremely hard for a black actress in the industry, you can’t be difficult. During awards season, MoNique was no where to found during press junkets and campaigning. I remember she was saying that they weren’t paying her for doing a lot of that stuff. She said “At least give me something to take home to my babies.” Soooooo what. It would have lead to bigger opportunities. She blackballed herself
You’re absolutely correct “She Black-Balled herself”, and I hope now after so many years later she realizes this too. That Husband-manager of hers has been making a Fool out of her and caused her to miss out on a lot of Projects & Movies including all the Shondra Rhymes TV series. They went broke and tried to Sue Tyler Perry. She bounced back and is Suing Netflix to add more to her Networth.
YALL…LOL!!! Her use of ‘tiny’ had nothing to do wih Monique’s shape, she’s talking about the woman’s ego! She’s saying When Mo’Nique returns, she needs to come back humbled. But DEAD at her read for Lee Daniels, bc that was all truth!
Hollywood operates by its own set of rules. Play the game, or go home, that’s the rule. Monique blackballed herself with her ego and her I-do-what-I-want-to-do attitude.
so y’all goin pretend like the Zendaya / Juliana Enews dreadlock fight didn’t happen?
You gotta have clout to be difficult, and Mo’Nique wasn’t at the point where she could get away with not campaigning for the Oscar. Besides, how stupid would an actor have to be to not try to win the Oscar for both the sake of the film and his/her own career? On the real, some parts are Oscar nomination worthy in and of themselves, and Mo’s part in Precious was that kind of part — similar to Minnie (played by Octavia Spender) in The Help. Mo’Nique lands the role of a lifetime and then decides to be a b****, and then she decides to act surprised that there was a consequence to her actions? I can’t name one director who wouldn’t have blackballed Mo’Nique.