Mo’Nique says Oprah, Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels cost her ‘generational wealth’

The comedian and actress claims that members of the Hollywood elite have cost her money, not just now but for years to come

Keydra Manns

Nov 6, 2020

Mo’Nique has more to say in her ongoing crusade about the evils and abuses of the entertainment industry.

The Oscar-winning actress has been forthcoming in the past about her sour relationships with Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels, and Tyler Perry but during a recent episode of Fox Soul’s Out Loud with Claudia Jordan she says the three stars didn’t just cost her money, they cost money for her generations to come.

But she told Jordan she doesn’t regret her comments.

Per Shadow and Act, Mo’Nique told Jordan: “For so long, people in power feel like ‘I can use you like a piece of trash and ball you up and throw you away when I’m done with you.’ For me, that stage is my therapy. That night, I had to say it because they were sitting by watching my career be snatched.”

She added, “Its cost my family millions. Its cost us generational money.”

Jordan opened up the conversation by asking Mo’Nique about a conversation she had with fellow actress and The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who Mo’Nique says advised her in private to leave her husband and manager, Sidney Hicks, because he’s the reason she’s missing out on work opportunities.

Mo'Nique Sidney Hicks Oprah Tyler Perry — Mo’Nique and Sidney Hicks attend the BET Hip Hop Awards ’10 at Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on October 2, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

“I was heartbroken that day in her dressing room, personally, because I was watching our icon and our legend be scared,” said the actress. “As she was looking into my eyes and she said to me, ‘It’s your husband, you gotta get rid of your husband,’ and I said, ‘Whoopi, my husband negotiated the biggest deals I’ve had in my career, along with our attorney Rickey Anderson, two Black men,’ and she went dead silent. And then she said, ‘Listen, you better stop worrying about that little girl coming behind you and you better worry about you.’ And at that moment, I knew Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t worried about me because I’m the little girl coming behind her.”

After Mo’Nique won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her heartbreaking role in Precious in 2010 she believes her opportunities in Hollywood dried up because she was blackballed for failing to participate in a promotional tour for the film for free.

The actress called out Winfrey saying she added fuel to the fire when she refused to dispute claims that Mo’Nique was hard to work with. She says she had a conversation with Perry about the situation and that while he agreed with her privately he won’t support her publicly.

The actress tells Jordan, “When you have Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels saying you are right in your position, so what happens historically, when you understand what a Black woman has to deal with in a place called Hollywood, it is always, we will get them on the next one…”

She continued: “Well g****** it, I’ve been showing up for 30 years… and when you know the history of Hattie McDaniel, when you know the history of Eartha Kitt…they gave everything, and the moment they say something ain’t right, they became difficult, they became blackballed and most of them died in despair, alone with no families, because they gave it all to a place called Hollywood.”

Check out the full conversation below.