Comedian Mo’Nique won an Oscar for the 2009 movie Precious, but the award didn’t lead to the career opportunities it should have. In the past, she has accused Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry of “blackballing” her because she did not want to promote the film the way the executive producers wanted her to. Now, Mo’Nique claims she has a recording of Perry apologizing to her.
Mo’Nique, whose full name is Monique Angela Hicks, stopped by Turnt Out with Ts Madisonย this week and shared more secrets about the situation. Perry asked her to promote the film at a festival for free, but she refused because it was not in her contract. He then allegedly tried to use his position to push her to “do what she’s told.” She did not like the idea of working for free.
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“I don’t care who it is, it’s not fair for you to want me to work for free just because it’s you… so now, here comes the blackball,” she told Ts Madison, reports Radar Online. This started the accusations that Mo’Nique is “difficult,” she said, and Winfrey didn’t stand up for her. Even after Winfrey spoke with Mo’Nique’s husband Sidney Hicks, Winfrey still sided with Perry, Mo’Nique said.
Mo’Nique said there were several cases where a director would tell producers how “difficult she was to work with,” proving Perry’s power within the industry. Perry himself has never directed Mo’Nique. He didn’t even get a credit on Precious, which was directed by Lee Daniels, until after the movie finished production.
To this day, Mo’Nique is still fighting the rumor that she is “difficult.” She claims Perry recently called her and Hicks, and she secretly recorded their conversation. Perry apologized and told her, “What I did to you was wrong,” she told Madison. The host said she heard the conversation and Mo’Nique was “telling the truth.”ย
Later, Mo’Nique said Al Sharpton and Kevin Hart both heard the recording and wanted Perry to publicly apologize. Perry didn’t want to “revisit” the situation, according to Mo’Nique, but he then called a mutual friend to say he would meet with Mo’Nique, but only if the meeting was without her husband. She also had to apologize to him and Winfrey for saying they had something to do with her career stalling, Mo’Nique said. This was “recent,” she added.
Mo’Nique has not changed her story about this. In 2015, she told The Hollywood Reporter Daniels told her she was blackballed because she “didn’t play the game.” During a 2017 show at the Apollo Theater, she told the crowd she wasn’t blackballed, but “white balled,” adding, “Thank you, Mr. Lee Daniels. Thank you, Mr. Tyler Perry. Thank you, Ms. Oprah Winfrey.” In 2015, Daniels also told CNN Mo’Nique made “unreasonable demands” during the 2009 awards season.ย
