Mo'Nique Has A Lot To Say About Oprah, Tyler Perry, Tiffany Haddish, and Others

By Brian Richards | Celebrity | February 8, 2024 |

By Brian Richards | Celebrity | February 8, 2024 |

When stand-up comic/actor Katt Williams was interviewed by Shannon Sharpe last month, not only did that conversation have everyone talking, especially other Black stand-up comics who couldn’t help but share their thoughts on the matter, whether Katt mentioned their names or not, but it also had people wondering what would be the next interview that would have all of Black Twitter buzzing. Yesterday, that question was finally answered when stand-up comic/Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique sat down with Shannon Sharpe for a two-part interview on his podcast, Club Shay Shay. (Seriously, I cannot read or hear the name of that podcast without thinking of this.)

The conversation between the two of them was nearly three hours long, so here are some snippets of what was discussed between Mo’Nique and Shannon.

Taraji P. Henson: The Oscar-nominated actress revealed how she was underpaid and poorly treated during production of The Color Purple, and how the reaction to her complaints about pay inequality differed from how the media and her Hollywood contemporaries responded to Mo’Nique’s similar complaints over a decade ago.

Mo’Nique also stated that it was easier for the public to accept what Taraji was saying because she said all of this while crying and breaking down and visibly being in pain, as opposed to seeing Mo’Nique speak her mind without hesitation, without her voice wavering, and with her husband/manager by her side. As to the people who questioned why she needed to say and do all of that with her husband close by, she said: “It’s a sad day when we’re questioning why a Black man would stand with his Black woman.” (Which brings to mind all of the recent complaints about Jay-Z and his speech at the Grammys this past weekend when accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact award, where he made it crystal-clear that the Recording Academy doesn’t respect or acknowledge Beyonce’s accomplishments in a way that was deserved, and that some of the other artists who have been rewarded instead of his wife aren’t nearly as good, and don’t even belong in the same category as her. Which some people interpreted as shots fired at Taylor Swift, and at other white artists, in general.)

Oprah Winfrey: Mo’Nique said how as a little girl growing up in Baltimore, she was partly inspired by seeing Oprah as the host of a local talk show called People Are Talking, especially since seeing a Black woman on television was quite the rarity, let alone a plus-sized Black woman. And how seeing Oprah on her television screen inspired her to hone her talents so that she could achieve fame and fortune for her own benefit and her family. But today, as an adult, regarding how she felt Taraji was treated by Oprah? Mo’Nique felt that it was yet another example of Oprah’s ego running amok and that her reputation of being powerful and untouchable in Hollywood allowed her to think that she could say and do whatever she wanted without anyone putting her in check. Hence why Oprah felt comfortable enough to invite Mo’Nique and her brother, Gerald, onto The Oprah Winfrey Show so that he could apologize to her for his sexual molestation of Mo’Nique when they were younger. Mo’Nique refused to appear on the show with him but gave her blessing for Oprah to interview him, only to end up discovering that Oprah — without telling Mo’Nique that she was intending to do so — invited her entire family to be interviewed, including her mother, with whom Mo’Nique has a strained relationship. Since then, Mo’Nique has not been shy in expressing how she doesn’t hold Oprah Winfrey in very high regard and also feels that she’s partly responsible for the negative reputation she has in Hollywood that has stalled her acting career, even after winning an Oscar.

Tyler Perry: During her interview, Mo’Nique stated that she had an audio recording of Perry saying that he had lied about her being difficult to work with and that those lies and rumors (with Oprah’s support) were largely responsible for her being blackballed in Hollywood, and missing out on numerous roles (and millions of dollars) because of it. She also explained how when she received an Oscar nomination for her performance in Precious, Lionsgate, the studio that released the film, made multiple requests for her to campaign on behalf of the film and travel around the country to do so, which she refused, as she wanted to spend time with her family. When she asked if the studio was going to compensate her for this, as she was contractually obligated to do so for the film’s promotional tour, they told her no. And when Perry approached her with the very same request, Mo’Nique asked him if he was going to pay her to do so. To which he said that he doesn’t pay people with his money when he feels that it’s not merited, and she said that since he doesn’t give away money for free, she shouldn’t be expected to work for free, either.

Kevin Hart: Mo’Nique appeared on Hart’s podcast, in which he expressed his appreciation for her and that he was willing to work with her on other projects to help her career bounce back after she clashed with Oprah and Tyler Perry. However, when Mo’Nique informed Endemol, the production company she was working with, that she and Hart would be working together, she was later told by Endemol that Hart denied any working relationship with Mo’Nique, and said that he had nothing planned with her. Mo’Nique called Hart and wanted to know what was going on, and Hart promised to clear things up with Endemol. She never heard back from him after that.

D.L. Hughley: Mo’Nique appeared on The D.L. Hughley Show with Hughley’s co-hosts since he wasn’t present for that episode. Everything was going well during the episode until Hughley’s co-hosts asked her to play “Would You Rather?,” with the question being “Would you rather your husband have protected sex with Lee Daniels (director of Precious, The Butler, and co-creator of the FOX series Empire), or have unprotected sex with video vixen Karrine “Superhead” Steffans?” Mo’Nique found the question unfunny and unprofessional and called Hughley to demand an explanation of his colleagues’ behavior. Hughley, however, was completely unsympathetic and simply explained that this is how they do their jobs and that this is how they make their listeners laugh. (After the interview aired, D.L. Hughley recorded his own video, in which he stated Mo’Nique didn’t tell the truth about him, and is nothing but a lying-ass liar who lies.)

Tiffany Haddish: When she was interviewed by GQ in 2018, she got plenty of attention for her belief that drinking spoonfuls of turpentine will keep us healthy by killing the worms that live inside of our bodies. (Yes, she said that.) But she also shared her perspective on Mo’Nique’s insistence that there should be a boycott of Netflix because the streaming service refused to pay her for her stand-up comedy specials like they do with other stand-up comics.

Haddish has an incredible memory for dollar amounts—money coming in, money going out—and she speaks about finances frankly. When I ask about her paycheck for a 2005 appearance on an episode of That’s So Raven, she recalls the amount instantly. “That only paid like 795 bucks. But the residual checks are certainly nice. I got one for two cents the other day. They could’ve just held on to that till it accumulated at least to 35 cents.”

She brings up residuals again when our conversation turns to Netflix—specifically Mo’Nique’s call for a boycott of the streaming service in light of what the comedian described as “gender bias and color bias” in the paychecks offered to various comics for their stand-up specials. (A reported $20 million for Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. A reported $11 million for Amy Schumer. And $500,000 for Mo’Nique, she says.)

“My business run different than her business,” says Haddish. “I don’t live her life. I don’t have that husband of hers. I’m looking at how [Netflix has] opened up so many opportunities for Black females and comedy. When my people are dying, that’s when you gonna catch me protesting. I’m not gonna protest because somebody got offered not the amount of money they wanted to get offered. If you don’t like what they’re offering you, just no longer do business with them. If I protest Netflix—what about all the Black shows that are on there? What about all the other actors that are working on there? All the Indians, the Hispanics, the Asians. My show, The Carmichael Show, airs on there right now. It ain’t on NBC.”

Haddish was a series regular on the three-season NBC sitcom created by comedian Jerrod Carmichael.

“I play Carmichael Show on a repeating basis. I just turn it on and let it play. I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s collect that residual check.’ “

The best way to describe Mo’Nique’s response to what Haddish said about her and her husband? It was like honey laced with arsenic, in that her voice sounded sweet while she spoke, but her chosen words were utterly ruthless in how they were used to read Haddish for complete and utter filth.

“I remember our beautiful sister, Tiffany Haddish, who did an interview with GQ magazine. And this, in my humble opinion, is where we keep throwing each other under the bus…When I saw that, it’s like, Tiffany, if you had a husband like mine, you may not have two DUIs. If you had a husband like mine, you may not be caught up in what looks like you could have been grooming a child. And I say that with no judgment. But when you speak about having a husband like mine, you open up the door. And I’m saying to you, if you had one like mine, you may not sit in these positions that you can’t explain the next day.”

If you read what I wrote about Tiffany Haddish for Pajiba last year, you’ll know that Mo’Nique barely even scratched the surface when it came to calling her out.

Will Packer: The successful producer behind the Think Like A Man films, Girls Trip, and Little had asked Mo’Nique to do a cameo appearance in one of his earlier films, Almost Christmas, and she agreed to do so. It was a decision she soon came to regret. Packer not only felt the need to refer to himself as the H.N.I.C. (the Head Nigger In Charge) when he felt that his authority was being challenged by Mo’Nique (who felt disrespected by his assistant), gave directions to the actors on set with the 1st Assistant Director instead of letting the actual director do his job, but when her trailer on the Almost Christmas set caught fire and exploded, Packer expressed little to no concern as to whether Mo’Nique had suffered any burns or injuries. Instead, he wanted to know what happened to the wigs that her character was supposed to wear in the film and if they were still intact.

There were other subjects touched upon during the interview. How Rev. Al Sharpton had promised to help Mo’Nique resolve the conflict with Tyler Perry, only to end up siding with Perry himself; how she and her fellow comedians on the Queens of Comedy tour were disrespected and not given the same five-star treatment by their producers as the Original Kings of Comedy; Lee Daniels offering her the lead role opposite Forest Whitaker in The Butler, only to end up rescinding that offer and giving the role to Oprah; how she took steps to resolve the emotional and psychological scars of her past to prevent her current marriage from falling apart like her first two marriages. Shannon also asked what she wants from Oprah and Tyler Perry, to which she said that she wants sincere apologies from both of them for what they’ve done to damage her career and reputation for so many years, and financial compensation for herself and her family, because of their words and deeds preventing her from being hired for other prestigious roles after Precious.

Once the interview aired, Black Twitter had plenty to say about it, which should come as a surprise to no one. The overall consensus, according to their tweets?

Oprah being called out by Mo’Nique was a good thing and is further proof that she is only out for herself and her own success and is not to be trusted. Tyler Perry is the same man who writes damn near every script for his television shows, simply because he refuses to hire WGA writers to work on them, so of course, he would be guilty of some f-ckery like this. D.L. Hughley has been shown once again that he truly ain’t sh-t, and that opinion about him has been shared ever since it became known that D.L. Hughley’s oldest daughter, Ryan, was sexually abused, and that he refused to believe her or do anything about it because the abuser was one of his friends.

Shannon Sharpe was being too damn quiet when Mo’Nique asked him to confirm what was said on the audio recording of Tyler Perry as if he himself was trying to join Al Sharpton in doing all he could to stay in Perry’s good graces. (He practically hit Mo’Nique with a “Come ON, Katt!,” in how he chose to focus instead on how it was probably illegal for her to record Perry in the first place.) Atlanta and The Boondocks were actually very accurate in how they chose to portray Tyler Perry, in the forms of Mr. Chocolate and Winston Jerome. (The anecdote of Perry clapping his hands together to command that everyone leave his room so that he and Mo’Nique could speak privately, including Mo’Nique’s own security team, just made me start hearing “It’s Alright To Crossdress For Christ” in my head as soon as she said it.) And the way Mo’Nique dragged Haddish was so brutal that one person couldn’t resist adding the beat for Nas’ classic diss track “Ether” to that particular footage, so it would play in the background as she spoke.

If you have a few hours to spare, you can listen to the complete interview on the Club Shay Shay podcast, or you can watch it on YouTube.