MoโNique is taking the time once again to air out her longstanding grievances with Tyler Perry leaving many to wonder if and when sheโll give up on her quest for justice from the Hollywood mogul. But the longer we think about it, the more we realize that she actually shouldnโt give up and thereโs a good reason why.
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As you well know, the beef between the two stars dates all the way back to 2009 when the โPreciousโ star refused to fly out to France for a non-contractually obligated appearance to promote the aforementioned film at that yearโs Cannes Film Festival. Due to her refusal, Perryโwho was one of the executive producers of the film alongside Oprah Winfreyโlabeled her as โdifficult to work withโ and essentially blackballed her from the industry.
What transpired in the years that followed was a complete slowdown in jobs for MoโNique and countless call outs where she blasted Perry for the part he played in her career downfall. She event went so far as to making multiple posts on social media about him, posting an audio conversation of Perry admitting he did wrong by her and that he would eventually apologize, doing long interviews about him, blasting him during a comedy set and more.
Earlier this month, MoโNique attempted to once again get Perryโs attention by calling him out for his โhypocriticalโ sermon at Angie Stoneโs funeralโbut it came to naught. Now, over the weekend, during a new interview with Rodney โRedโ Grant for his YouTube channel, โThe Parkersโ star is once again speaking her peace.
โIโm not difficult to work with, Im just not gonโ put up with no foolishness. And Iโm not about to let you treat anybody else bad that weโre playing with,โ she said in part. โSo I think that the misconception becameโand the misconception came from Tyler Perry. Iโm not trying to dress it up, Iโm too damn grown to be scared to say it out loud. But when that brother said sheโs difficult to work with, well people ran with that. It affected my career for 12 years.โ
And thatโs exactly why she shouldnโt keep quiet. Do you know how many TV shows she couldโve filmed in twelve years? Do you know how many films she couldโve done in twelveย years? Having to miss out on numerous opportunities and numerous paychecks based off a false perception is something no working person would take lightly in any line of business. So why should MoโNique be expected to just take the cards sheโs been dealt and go sit down quietly?
Letโs not forget the fact that in leaked audio from 2017โthat was also mentioned in Moโs viral โClub Shay Shayโ interview a couple years ago, Perry himself admitted that it was wrong for Moโnique to do something she wasnโt contractually obligated to do. He also said sheโd get an apology from him once things cooled down and heโd was doing press for his then upcoming film โBoo 2! A Madea Halloween.โ Itโs been years since that conversation and weโve yet to see Perry make good on what he said.
And realistically speaking, MoโNique may be waiting even longer to get what she feels sheโd rightly owed from him, specifically an apology and some sort of monetary recompense. But if her track record in the court room is any indication of how things will eventually play out with the โMadeaโ creatorโshe might ought to keep holding out hope and raising hell for a little while longer.
Look, we get it: itโs been years, MoโNique is loud, โbrash,โ a big Black woman with โan attitudeโ and wonโt back down. And sheโs going against the juggernaut of an industry man like Perry. But be that as it may, she absolutely has every right to continue to push for the justice she feels she deserves no matter who wronged her. Instead of quietly wishing for her to hush, maybe we should instead use our energy to push for the both of them to finally come to the table and work this thing on out.
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