It seems the opinions involving Mo’Nique’s Netflix boycott have been split right down the middle.
In January, the comedian said the streaming company offered her far less money for a comedy special compared to people like Chris Rock and Amy Schumer.
Since then, a huge debate has broken out among some of the public, and a good number of celebrities have spoken out too — people like Jada Pinkett-Smith, Chance The Rapper and Charlamagne Tha God, who Mo’Nique got into an intense back-and-forth with.
Now the latest celeb to join the conversation is comedian Kym Whitley, who said she supports Mo’Nique’s cause but feels her methods may make it harder for other Black female comedians in the future.
Whitley also seemed to question why Mo’Nique is just now speaking out when things have been hard for Black women in entertainment for so long.
“Sh– ain’t changed. You just now gonna start talking about it?” said Whitley in an interview with Essence. “You know how long it’s been since we ain’t got equal pay? I love the fact that the conversation is there. It’s been there. She ain’t been the first. I just feel like her tactics are wrong. I believe she can go about it a different way, but sometimes you gotta make a lot of noise to get people to notice. My fear is that her tactics might hurt us or hurt the fight.”
Afterward, Whitley suggested that Mo’Nique has only spoken out about one issue, money in entertainment, and stayed quiet about other things that some might say affect the Black community much more. Whitley said it seemed like Mo’Nique was on a sole crusade, she needs a coalition.
“If you get people angry or thinking that she’s by herself — she ain’t got no coalition behind her — then when it does come time for us to talk about it and go to Netflix or go wherever and have a serious conversation, they’re like ‘Really? This again?’ You have to have more people. It’s just you.”
“And when you say ‘I’ didn’t get enough pay, they didn’t offer ‘Me’, you gotta always say ‘We,’” added Whitley. “And then you gotta show that you’re fighting for other causes, not just your pocketbook. You gotta be fighting on Twitter and talking about police brutality, Trump or whatever issues you need to be passionate about.”
Another person who recently spoke about Mo’Nique’s boycott is Brand Nubian rapper Lord Jamar, who pretty much shared Whitley’s opinion. In short, Jamar said the “Precious” actress is just fighting for herself, not her entire community.
“Ain’t nobody riding with Mo’Nique on that,” he said. “Because it was very selfish and you can see it. It’s not about Black people and women, it’s about you, Monique.”
Mo’Nique hasn’t responded to Whitley or Lord Jamar yet.
