Monique is asking for a public sit down with media moguls Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey after their 15 year-long professional dispute.
In a candid conversation on the “85 South Show” podcast, released on Friday (Oct 31), Mo’Nique discussed her career journey thus far, including her fallout with Winfrey and Perry. Their public feud stems largely from the 2009 film Precious, where she claims the media executives labeled her “difficult” to work with, after she refused to promote the film for free. She believes this labeling effectively “blackballed” her from Hollywood for over a decade.
On the podcast episode, Mo’Nique made her message succinct: “Don’t run.”
“I’m still waiting for Tyler Perry. Still waiting for Oprah Winfrey to say, ‘Let’s have this open public conversation’. Don’t run. Don’t run, because that may be able to heal our community.”
Despite many years passing, Mo’Nique is still waiting for her public apology that was promised to her in 2016.
“Forgiveness doesn’t mean silence,” she said on the podcast. Mo’Nique emphasized that she won’t waver from her truth, even if it means keeping the fight public. “My knees don’t buckle,” she added.
“Y’all messed with my livelihood, which messes with my family,” she said. Mo’Nique says Oprah and Perry’s actions delayed her healing, even with her children.
Public callouts from Mo’Nique
Mo’Nique has previously asked for public reconciliation from Perry over the years. Earlier this year, she found what she labels as “discrepancies” in Perry’s speech at the late Angie Stone’s funeral.
On March 18, Mo’Nique reposted a clip of his speech at Stone’s funeral and wrote an open letter to him that was signed by her and her husband, Sydney Hicks.
“Dear @tylerperry, I recently watched your heartfelt speech at Angie Stone’s funeral, where you expressed frustration over her mistreatment by the music industry.
She added, “It struck me, and my husband Sidney, as poignant, but also made us reflect on some unsettling discrepancies in your actions towards me.”
“The Deliverance” actress went ahead to discuss some of her grievances with Perry. She wrote, “1 You expressed anger over Angie’s mistreatment. Yet, you labeled me ‘difficult to work with,’ despite never having worked with me. How can you condemn poor treatment of others when you’ve imposed the same on me? We have audio of you admitting you were wrong.”
Mo’Nique continued, “2 You asked, ‘Where’s the money she’s owed?’ Well, where’s my public apology that you promised in 2016? The false narrative you perpetuated helped blackball me, costing me tens of millions. Where’s the restitution for that?”
At this time, neither Tyler Perry nor Oprah Winfrey have publicly responded to Mo’Nique’s renewed call for a conversation.