Mo’Nique says she will not drop her grievances against Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, even after years of public scrutiny. In recent interviews and social media appearances, the Academy Award–winning actress and comedian insisted that the past remains unresolved—and that “letting go” simply means accepting what she sees as injustice.
Mo’Nique Clears the Air
During a recent appearance on the Outlaws podcast, Mo’Nique addressed the ongoing tension, claiming her career suffered after she refused to promote Precious for free. She said, “People say Mo’Nique when you going to stop with Tyler and Oprah, I’m not! Just so we clear, I’m not!”
She argued that silence has enabled mistreatment. “Just don’t say nothing, just keep moving on and that’s why we continue to be treated, the way that we get treated,” she said.
She emphasized, however, that she is not without love or compassion: “I love my brother and sister. Or my sister and sister … Whatever he goes. I love all of them. However, wrong is wrong and right is right.”
Mo’Nique says she has demanded a public apology from Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. She called for them to acknowledge what she believes are false portrayals of her character—particularly allegations that she refused to promote Precious due to being “difficult.”
She also reproached Winfrey for interviewing her estranged parents on The Oprah Winfrey Show without her consent, noting that this deepened her sense of betrayal. “You don’t tell me you have my mother and my father on your show, and you think that’s just OK?” she asked.
Mo’Nique believes that if these wrongs were publicly addressed—if an apology were issued—some progress could be made. But until then, she says “I will not stop.”
For Mo’Nique, the matter isn’t merely personal. She frames it as something larger for Black women in Hollywood: standing up when they feel marginalized. She has long claimed she was “blackballed” after winning Best Supporting Actress for Precious in 2009, saying she was punished for not playing the industry’s unspoken game.