If there’s one thing Mo’Nique does not play about, it’s accountability. This week, the “Precious” star, who has famously called out the likes of Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, and Lee Daniels, shared she’s looking to have a conversation with Whoopi Goldberg. In an open letter posted to Instagram this week, Mo’Nique addressed “The View” co-host, reflecting on an exchange they had in a 2018 episode on the daytime talk show.
“I’m encouraged to send you this open letter after recently seeing the video of our last conversation on your show,” Mo’Nique wrote. “The tone of the comments today seems different from the energy eight years ago, with many people now agreeing with my sentiment about not working for people or entities I don’t owe anything to. I wonder, have your feelings changed since that time?”
“I was also intrigued to learn that in 1993, there was an attempt to sue you regarding ‘Theodore Rex,’ because it was alleged that you had made a verbal commitment to the film. Your defense was that you never actually committed. You can imagine how confused I was when I discovered this, especially since when I explained that my only contractual obligation was to Lee Daniels, it didn’t sway your opinion enough to stop you from saying you could have ‘schooled’ me on doing what they expected from me,” she continued.
Mo’Nique’s inquiry stems from a back-and-forth she had with Goldberg while appearing on “The View” to share her side of the story that damaged her reputation in Hollywood. Despite the success of the movie “Precious,” the actress claims she was blackballed by Daniels in the industry after refusing to travel internationally to promote the film. While on the show, Mo’Nique explained that she had already “done her job,” per the deal she signed with Lee Daniels, when she declined the request “to work for free.” To which Goldberg explained that she could have “schooled” Mo’Nique on the contractual obligations.
“If I had done something wrong contractually, they would’ve sued me,” Mo’Nique shared during their discussion. “What Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels, Oprah Winfrey, and Lionsgate showed me was ‘when you don’t do what we ask you to do, we’ll take your livelihood.’ So for eight years, for eight years, my family has suffered, and my career has suffered because what I would not allow those entities to do was bully me, and because I didn’t allow the bullying to happen, this is now what I sit in.”
Fast forward 8 years, Mo’Nique is still urging Perry and Winfrey to take accountability after settling her differences with Daniels. In her letter she notes that Perry has privately apologized for saying she was difficult to work with, but has yet to “publicly correct it.”
“People like Tyler Perry refused to take responsibility, while I had to take responsibility for refusing to sign up for an act of slavery against my will. The worst part is that another woman chastised me on a platform meant to empower women,” she wrote. “What is interesting is hearing you now speak about the importance of standing up for what’s right. My question is: is your stance truly about standing up against wrong, or is it standing with the ‘right people’?”
While the actress says she’ll wait for Goldberg’s reply about whether she still feels she “schooled her correctly,” she also extended a note of caution:
“But I caution you: If you admit you were wrong, you know you’d be going against all the ‘right people,’” she concluded. “So, are you willing to do what’s right for the little girls coming behind us, or is your position still ‘F’ the little girl coming behind us? I look forward to finding out. Because I was the little girl coming behind you.”
