Comedian and actress Mo’Nique was the latest guest on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay,” where she spoke about her upbringing in Baltimore, Katt Williams’ appearance and even addressed the comments that Tiffany Haddish made about her and her husband.
During her interview, “The Parkers” star also addressed Taraji P. Henson’s emotional comments about the pay disparity among Black women in entertainment.
“It was painful to watch,” Mo’Nique said to Sharpe. “However, Taraji and I had a conversation over a decade ago in my trailer when I was doing ‘The Monique Show.’ And she said, ‘You know, you gotta keep on getting it until your turn comes.’ And I said, ‘Taraji, most of us die before our turn comes. We gotta ask for it right now.’ Now, I understand that because there was a time I felt the same way because that’s what I was told.”
She then went on to explain what she didn’t receive the same attention that Henson did when she said the same thing years earlier. “It was the messenger. I should just be grateful I got invited to the party. ‘You’re a big, fat Black woman. How dare you be the one.’”
She continued, “‘And then on top of that, you’re saying names. You’re saying Oprah’s name out loud. You’re saying [Tyler Perry’s] name out loud. You’re saying [Lee Daniels‘] name out loud. You’re saying Lionsgate out loud. That’s not what we do… How dare you say our heroes’ names. These are our heroes. How could you say their names out loud?’ Because they’re the ones that did it. And if I don’t say it out loud, now you see a woman that is swallowing that pain, that is so stressed out. Then you see our sister Taraji P. Henson sit on that platform.”