For comedian Mo’Nique, there are three aspects of her life that are not laughing matters: her marriage, her business dealings, and her integrity. The latter two have been a hot topic for her since claiming she was blackballed over a decade ago for refusing to do free promotional work for “Precious,” a film that won her an Oscar in 2010.
Her exposé of the alleged wrongdoings of Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels, who directed the film, was again brought to light when she appeared on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast to kick off the month of February.
Mo’Nique has long claimed that the media moguls and Daniels were in cahoots to not halt the spread of a narrative that she was “difficult” for her unwillingness to do work not outlined in her contract. In her recent chat with Shannon Sharpe, she again reiterated that her exposing the three aforementioned Hollywood figures was about accountability.
She shared similar messaging in 2019 when she discussed the hit her career took from the fallout between herself, Winfrey, Perry, and Daniels with Steve Harvey on his eponymous talk show. Clips of their heated discussion have resurfaced in the wake of her newest scathing remarks about the ways she has been overlooked within the industry.
Mo’Nique and the “Empire” creator have since made amends. After she settled a four-year battle and discrimination lawsuit with Netflix in 2022, she enlisted Daniels to direct her 2023 comedy special, “My Name is Mo’Nique,” which can be viewed on the streaming platform.
Monique been exposing nobody was listening. She’s a Sagittarius so I know it’s going down. And Steve Harvey is a SNAKE IN THE GRASS! pic.twitter.com/Jq520KFHqW
— 💍𝒮𝓊𝑔𝒶🫶🏾 ❄️December’s 12/18 Coldest☃️ (@SagittariusN2U) February 9, 2024
“The Parkers” actress first said that she was hurt by Harvey saying on his morning radio show that she burned too many bridges instead of speaking directly with her. On TV, he explained, “I thought you went about it wrong. See, I felt you had done yourself a disservice by the way you chose to go about it.”
The “Family Feud” host also admitted that they eventually spoke privately, where he said she had not done anything wrong by saying no to doing free work.
However, he also added, “When you tell the truth, you have to deal with the repercussions. We Black out here. We can’t come out here and do any way we want to… We gotta flex a different way. We in the money game. This ain’t the Black man’s game, this ain’t the white man’s game, it’s the money game.”
She responded, “Before the money game, it’s the integrity game, and we’ve lost the integrity worrying about the money.”
An X user who posted the resurfaced clips wrote, “Monique been exposing nobody was listening. She’s a Sagittarius so I know it’s going down. And Steve Harvey is a snake in the grass!” Another user commented, “Even after she said he hurt her with his words, there was no apology. They’re really just trying to smooth things over for the powers that be.”
"People are afraid of the truth.” “If the messenger doesn’t fit what people should think the messenger’s supposed to look like”
— Jay Black (@JayBlackWorld_) February 7, 2024
Mo'Nique says Steve Harvey was wrong & she confirms Katt Williams was telling the truth. #ClubShayShay #MoNique @PluggedNMedia_
(🎥 @ClubShayShay ) pic.twitter.com/B6a3hp1tg0
When she addressed Harvey’s advice on the podcast, she said it was another way in which the Black community has been taught to not call out perpetrators of its pain.
“We swallow that pain. That’s why people have such a problem with Katt Williams. People have a problem with people that says, ‘I’m going to tell the truth,” explained Mo’Nique. “It caused a raucous. And you would say why are people upset with the truth? When you hear Steve Harvey say there are repercussions when you tell the truth…should I tell a lie and get a reward?”
In the end, she said people had more of an issue with her being the messenger than her actual words.
Following the explosive episode, Mo’Nique announced that was joining Katt Williams‘ “Dark Matter Tour.” He appeared on the podcast in January, where he slammed Kevin Hart, Harvey and others as the first guest of the year. Kevin’s ex-wife, Torrei Hart, also controversially joined the tour amid the men’s feud.
