Mo’Nique has never been one to hold her tongue, so you can probably guess how things went down when she faced off with Breakfast Club co-host, Charlamagne tha God. For those who missed it, Mo’Nique appeared on The Breakfast Club on Friday and it didn’t take long for things to go left between her and Charlamagne. As expected, the comedian/actress was questioned about her drama with Netflix. Mo’Nique wasn’t pleased with Charlamagne calling her the “Donkey of the Day” and she had no reservations about voicing her displeasure.
No Donkey Here…:
When Monique stopped by the show, she confronted Charlamagne about labeling her as the “Donkey of the Day.” The Queen of Comedy star and Charlamagne went at it debating about the situation. But, Mo’Nique just couldn’t understand how the radio host could someone from his own community the way he bashed her. Mo’Nique believes Charlamagne’s perception of her sends the message that black women are automatically devalued. “What you’re saying to the community is, as Black women, you’re devalued. And if you stand up and you make a stand and you say ‘We need equality’ and we have to say what’s right and what’s fair. And then a brother that looks like me from South Carolina [says] that ‘[I’m] the Donkey of the Day,’ you [Charlamagne] have to explain that to the community.”
Charlamagne stood behind his take on the situation. He even admitted he didn’t totally understand Mo’Nique’s perspective and wondered why she felt she should be paid the same as Chris Rock and other legendary comedians.
“When I heard you say that you wanted us to boycott [Netflix] because of racial and gender bias … I wanted to know why did you feel like you should have gotten whatever Chris Rock got, whatever Dave Chappelle got, whatever Amy Schumer got … We all know Mo’Nique is a legend, but we also know that those deals that Netflix are giving out are based on recent stand-up shows,” Charlamagne told the comedian on Friday.
Although he admitted he doesn’t believe Amy Schumer is a great comedian, he did argue that numbers don’t lie.
“I don’t think Amy Schumer is funny, but she did sell out 50 arenas around the world, including MSG, and HBO wanted her as well, so she created a bidding war on those stats, so I assume that’s the reason her number was at that place,” he continued.
Dragged To Hell:
However, Mo’Nique wasn’t about to back down. She compared Charlamagne to a slave who would allow his wife to be raped by the master.
“You know what, brotha? You’re going to hear yourself a lot from me lately. You’re going to hear yourself around the world. We have to explain brothas like you, we do. And, when we watched that movie Birth of a Nation and we saw that man walk his wife into that master’s house, we watched him walk his wife in. Then we watched him go back and get ’em— you’re that brotha.”
Whoopi Ain’t With Her Either
As we all have seen by now, although Mo’Nique is making a whole lotta sense in why she’s fighting for equality within Hollywood, her method of getting her point across is sometimes misconstrued. It can also be argued that there are other female comedian/actresses who came before her, such as Whoopi Goldberg, whom can give her some tips on how to successfully have greater longevity, while still getting some ‘respeck on her name’ and her worth in Hollywood.
That being said, Whoopi tried to explain an alternative method on how to get what one deserves, in Hollywood, to Mo’Nique when she recently visited The View talk show the other day. That’s when things got a lil’ heated. Here’s what we reported previously:
On Thursday (2-23-18), Mo’ met her match when she sat down to chop it up with Whoopi Goldberg on The View. They discussed, in greater detail, Mo’Nique’s claim that Precious director, Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey had her blackballed in Hollywood for refusing to promote the film for free 8 years ago. As Mo’Nique was telling her side of the story again, Whoopi had to stop her and “school” her about how she should’ve handled that particular situation for the greater good of her career going forward. Whoopi also reminded Mo’Nique about the help she tried to extend to her at that time. However, Mo’Nique was sticking to her guns about the fact that she was not contractually wrong, nor obligated to do film promotion for free. Check out their exchange below (scroll down for the intense video footage):
Mo’Nique- “I’ve done my job”…
Mo’Nique: “Eight years ago I did a movie called Precious,” said Mo. “On that film I received $50,000. That was not my argument, nor my fight because that’s what I signed up for,” she said. “My deal was with a man named Lee Daniels. I did all of my contractual obligations and I was done. Then I started getting phone calls from Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. They wanted me to come work for free. To go over to Cannes and promote this film internationally. I said to them, ‘Guys, my deal is with Lee Daniels and I’ve done my job.’ And they all agreed. […] And this is what happens, in my humble opinion, when you don’t go up to the hotel room,” she said.
Whoopi- ‘Hol’ up, let me school you’…
Whoopi: “I’m going to stop you because contractually, when you make a movie, regardless of who you sign the deal with, your job is to go and promote said movie,” said Whoopi. “And we’ve had this conversation and I said if you had called me I could’ve schooled you on what was expected.”
Mo’Nique: “And we did have that conversation and what I said to you my sweet sister, I said, ‘Whoopi, at what point do we stop saying the next time?’” Whoopi asked, “What next time?”
Mo’Nique- ‘I’m not letting them bully me’…
“If I had done something wrong contractually, they would’ve sued me,” added Mo’Nique. “The reason why no one could do anything to me contractually is because they found out I did nothing wrong contractually. So, when they asked me to come overseas to promote the film — when I said, ‘Guys, I’m spending time with my family, I’m going to pass.’ […] What Tyler Perry showed me, Lee Daniels, Oprah Winfrey and Lionsgate, when you don’t do what we ask you to do, we’ll take your livelihood. So for eight years, my family has suffered, my career has suffered because what I would not allow those entities to do was bully me.”
The entire time Mo’Nique spoke about this situation, Whoopi gave her the side eye and once Mo’ was done, Whoopi cut the convo’ short and simply thanked her for coming to the show. Watch the tense exchange below…
.@moworldwide tells her side of the story that damaged her reputation: "For 8 years, my family has suffered, and my career has suffered, because … I would not allow those entities to … bully me." https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/cb9wUmiMfY
— The View (@TheView) February 22, 2018
Could Mo’Nique Stand To Learn Something From Whoopi?
Like I said, I think Mo’ is correct in her statements, that she was not contractually obligated to promote the film free of charge. On the flip side though, Whoopi seems to have been trying to explain to her, that there is a difference between sacrificing a little to pay your dues in the game, versus being messed over.
Whoopi has managed to have a very long career in Hollywood and outside of Hollywood, paving the way for comedians/actresses, like Mo’Nique. Therefore, although Mo’ has a point, because it’s never okay to be ‘bullied,’ she still could have maybe learned a thing or two from Whoopi about how to successfully play the game and come out on top in the end.
Nevertheless, I still respect Mo’Nique and her fearless stance overall. She may have many people to agree and/or disagree with her, but she’s making one thing clear: she’ll always stand her ground.
