Actress and comedian Mo’Nique is known for celebrating the success of fellow Black women who came before and after her no matter what industry. Recently, she thanked a fan page that gave her a five-star rating for “her supreme self-confidence, self-worth, commitment to black excellence, and clear-sighted commitment to empowering black women.”
In response, another fan mentioned the recent success of rapper Nicki Minaj, who scored her first solo #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart with her latest single, “Super Freaky Girl.” The Young Money signee makes history as the first female artist to debut on top of the chart since Lauryn Hill‘s iconic 1998 hit “Doo Wop (That Thing).”
“Nicki Minaj recently just scored her first solo #1 and was to first female rapper to debut #1 this century after being blackballed by the industry,” they tweeted. “As someone that was also blackballed, how does it make you feel to see her winning?”
In all caps, Mo’Nique replied, “SO PROUD & HAPPY FOR OUR BEAUTIFUL SISTER.”
The “Pink Friday” artist tweeted back, “Thank you.”
However, a third fan acknowledged how Mo’Nique and Minaj could relate to similar experiences of being black-balled by Hollywood or the music industry. They wrote, “So crazy cause watching everything unfold with Monique and seeing exactly who campaigned against her reminded me SO much of the queen era. I just knew you two could relate on this topic.”
Fans believe Minaj was blackballed for a number of reasons. Many recall her theatrical performance of “Roman Holiday” and “Roman’s Revenge” at the 2012 Grammy Awards. It caused controversy for many, including the Catholic Church for its reenactment of “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” She’s received numerous nominations over the years, but she hasn’t performed on the Grammy stage since.
Back in Feb. 2019, DJ Envy confessed to intentionally blackballing the fellow Queens, New York native. Envy and Minaj have known each other for years, but on air, the radio host admitted to omitting her music on “The Breakfast Club.” “I thought I was the only one that didn’t play her records,” he said.
Since then, the “Queen” rapper has only released a slew of smash freestyles and record-breaking collaborations with Doja Cat, Lil Baby, and others. However, fans are still waiting for her next and sixth studio album.
However, the majority are familiar with Monique’s recent black-ball headlines, which led to claims of being underpaid. The Oscar-winning actress claimed she was blackballed for not thanking filmmakers during the campaign for the 2009 film, “Precious,” and refusing to travel internationally for promotion. She also made other claims that she was paid unfairly, after receiving only $50,000 for the Lee Daniels-directed film.
Over the years, the 47-year-old has also aired her grievances with entertainment moguls, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. Since repairing some of her broken relationships, Mo’Nique has patched things up with Daniels, whom she previously referred to as her “brother.”
Daniels reconciled with the former talk show host during her stand-up performance at the St. George Theater in Staten Island on Friday, April 1. He apologized for not realizing how much he was “hurting” her, as previously reported.
“I am so sorry for hurting you in any way,” he told the audience. “She was my best friend, y’all — my best friend. Y’all think that ‘Precious’ was just [us]? That wasn’t. That was God working through both of us. And we go f—king do it again!”
