Tyler Perry‘s new film “Divorce In the Black” has the media circuit buzzing, with many drawing conclusions about Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict, two recently divorced actors portraying a divorced couple in a movie.
Actor Richard Lawson, who recently divorced Tina Knowles, is also a part of the stellar cast. But people are talking about another character appearing within the first eight minutes of the film, who draws similarities to Perry’s longtime nemesis, Mo’Nique.
One social media user on X wrote, “Why the lady at the church scene in @tylerperry Divorce in the black look like Monique … ? Is it just me?”
Another said, “That’s crazy I said the same thing in my head. She was like the Temu version of Monique.” A third said, “Getting fake Monique is diabolical. Billionaire petty different #DivorceInTheBlack.”
In the scene, Richard Lawson is preaching at a funeral though his eulogy was anything but warm and inviting. Instead of speaking about the young boy’s character and what he meant to others, Pastor Clarence offended the boys’ mother, Ms. Linda, played by Ursula O. Robinson. He revealed that Linda’s son was shot while trying to rob another church member after recently getting out of jail.
I'm not even ten minutes into the film, but Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black has one the craziest openings I have seen in one of his movies.#DivorceInTheBlack pic.twitter.com/P3jRQsRwxc
— Christopher Whitehead Jr. (@ChrisW102093) July 11, 2024
The angry mother then went off on the pastor and his congregation for choosing to voice their seemingly judgmental views at such an unusual time. Pastor Clarence then suggested that he and his family were paying for the funeral out of pity, which infuriated her more.
Linda then took off her hat and then her wrap-around dress and threw it at the pastor. She then instructed her sons, including the Dallas character played by Cory Hardrict, to remove the boy from the casket completely. “Y’all get the boy. Noooo, not the casket. Take him out,” she yelled.
“Tyler Perry thinks he’s slick! Got a Monique look alike to give Monique vibes without actually paying for Monique. Just shady especially given the animosity between them,” wrote one of many fans who viewed Robinson as a Mo’Nique “doppelgänger.”
“My exact thoughts!!” said another. “Yall think it was out of spite to Monique? I do!!!”
Dozens said the role as Linda wasn’t a far reach from Mo’Nique’s role as the mother in Lee Daniels’ “Precious.”
One said, “Reminded me of Monique’s character in Precious’,” as others confessed that “Mo’Nique would’ve killed it” but Robinson “did her big one with this role.”
A third fan added, “You know Mo was on the mood board for this one.”
watching divorce in the black. clearly they wanted monique for the role of ol boy’s mama😂 they went and found a doppelgänger.
— ms. ain’t goin! (@weirdheaux) July 14, 2024
Mo’Nique and Perry’s beef dates back to her time after wrapping up filming for the 2009 film which earned her an Oscar award. As executive producers, Perry and Oprah Winfrey wanted the “Queens of Comedy” alum to head out on a promotional tour involving interviews and talk shows.
But Mo’Nique was against flying to the Cannes Film Festival for an unpaid gig she claimed was not in her contract. She had explained to Winfrey and others that her priorities were her husband and her sons, whom she wanted to spend “a little bit of downtime” with.
“So I’m not going anywhere because I’m not obligated to go anywhere. I’ve done my part,’” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “So we mutually agreed to disagree. That was it. Next thing I know, I am considered ‘difficult’ and ‘hard to work with.’”
“The Parkers” star said Daniels even warned her stating, “I just don’t think it’s going to play out good for you.”
“And that was a problem,” said Mo’Nique. “The problem of ‘How could this fat Black woman say no to the powers that be in Hollywood?’”
Mo’Nique accused all three filmmakers of blackballing her from the industry by painting her as a “difficult” woman to work with in Hollywood, costing her millions in roles she otherwise would have gotten.
She even went as far as trying to expose Perry by revealing a recorded phone call where he agreed that claims about her being difficult to work with were unfair.
Also on the call, the “Madea” show creator vowed to make things right with her, but in February 2024, she revealed they were still on the outs.
“I never complained about the $50,000,” Mo’Nique said on “Club Shay Shay,” referring to the amount she received for her role in “Precious.”
“I did everything I was supposed to do. It is when they started asking me to become a slave. It is when Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey started asking me to work for free. It is when they started doing the bidding for whomever the gatekeeper was at the time.”
This was also in the midst of her long battle against Netflix who offered her less than $500,000 for a comedy special. After a public lawsuit, they were able to make things right and she released her “My Name Is Mo’Nique” special in 2023. It’s unclear how much she was paid.
Over the years, she’s used her stand up routines to take jabs at Perry, Oprah, and Daniels, who placed her in another movie role after publicly apologizing in 2022.
Taking aim at Perry and T.D. Jakes, Mo’Nique said, “And who swallowed you? Madea? Hellllurrr!” during a comedy show on Katt Williams’ The Dark Matters Tour in April. While there she incited the crowd to call Perry or Winfrey “coons.”
Mo'Nique makes audience call Oprah and Tyler Perry"coon motherf**kers!" while she is filmed still going off on Oprah and Tyler Perry during Katt Williams' tour. Thoughts 💭 ? pic.twitter.com/wjLsvulCwz
— BLACK FLAG 🏴 (@FlagBlack007) May 2, 2024
Mo’Nique has yet to make up with either party, and fans have no idea when she’ll ever let things go.
