February 8th 2024.
Mo'Nique, a well-known comedian, has recently become viral for her raw and honest interview on "Club Shay Shay." She didn't hold back, just like Katt Williams, and talked about everything and everyone, including Taraji P. Henson and Oprah Winfrey.
The interview, released by Shannon Sharpe on February 7, has already gained over four million views in just 24 hours. One of the most talked-about moments from the interview was Mo'Nique's criticism of comedians Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, and DL Hughley, as well as Hollywood bigwigs Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey.
Many have drawn comparisons between Henson's recent comments on pay inequality and mistreatment in Hollywood, including the advocacy she had to do for the cast of "The Color Purple," a musical remake produced by Oprah Winfrey. Henson's statements are similar to the complaints Mo'Nique made over a decade ago when she had a messy fallout with Winfrey, Perry, and Lee Daniels over the promotion of her Academy Award-winning performance in 2009's "Precious."
Now, seeing how Henson is addressing the same issues almost 15 years later, Mo'Nique can't help but feel pain, especially since she had a private conversation with Henson years ago.
"Taraji and I had a conversation over a decade ago in my trailer when I was doing The Mo'Nique Show," she recalled. "At the time, she told me, 'You have to keep fighting until it's your turn,' and I replied, 'Taraji, most of us don't get a turn. We have to demand it now.'"
When Sharpe asked Mo'Nique why Henson's public complaints seem to be more well-received than hers were 10 years ago, Mo'Nique explained why Henson was a better messenger.
"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,'" Mo'Nique said. "'And then on top of that, you're saying names. You're saying Oprah's name out loud. You're saying [Perry's] name out loud. You're saying [Daniels'] name out loud. You're saying Lionsgate out loud. That's not what we do – we say 'they,' we say 'the people,' we say 'the studio,' we say 'the producers.' '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."
Mo'Nique believes Henson received more sympathy because of how broken she appeared when she broke down in tears during her Sirius XM interview with Gayle King. When Mo'Nique complained, she had her husband by her side.
"We have a hard time seeing a strong Black woman with her back straight and her chin up and a strong Black man standing by her side. We have a hard time accepting that. But we can accept seeing a Black woman broken," Mo'Nique said.
The star of "Original Queens of Comedy" also believes Winfrey treated Henson differently after she spoke out publicly about the issues she faced while filming "The Color Purple."
"In my humble opinion, when you saw her walk up, you could see the tension. And then when you see Taraji write her a love letter [Henson penned a heartfelt thank-you to Winfrey on Instagram], it's like, 'Listen, we have to stand tall and strong on what we know,'" Mo'Nique said.
She continued, "We know you were mistreated. We know it wasn't right. We know it was unfair. And then you turn around and say, 'Oh, but Lady O handled it.' I have a problem with that. That allows Lady O to keep doing what she's doing, and we're in a position of, 'I don't want to say anything because we saw how Mo'Nique got whooped.'"
In related news, Katt Williams recently announced an upcoming album, which will include unreleased tracks from Tupac. The post Mo'Nique believes Taraji P. Henson was a better messenger for addressing pay inequality in Hollywood first appeared on Black Enterprise.
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