Mo’Nique has kept her firm stance on Tyler Perry and Oprah for several decades, and she’s not looking to switch up anytime soon. The actress recently shared a video on social media reiterating why she refuses to “let go” of her grievances against the two people she feels have done her wrong.
The 57-year-old entertainer said her being pressured to move on from the mistreatment is comparable to expectations from slavery. “We’ve gotten so used to letting it go and moving on, well, what does that come from? That dates all the way back to slavery. ‘Just don’t say nothing. Just keep moving on.’ And that’s why we continue to get treated the way we get treated,” she told the camera.
She emphasized that she’s not holding bitterness in her heart, but rather just standing on what’s right for her. “So for me, my babies, I won’t let go and I won’t from that. That doesn’t mean I’m bitter,” she added. “I’m not angry… I love all of them. However, wrong is wrong and right is right. Until we start standing on what is right, we will continue to be treated wrong. That’s just my humble opinion.” Watch below.
The public feud dates back over a decade, when Perry labeled Mo’Nique as being “difficult to work with” after she did not fly out for an appearance during 2009’s Precious press run. The conflict runs deep because Mo asserts the rumors have cost her millions of dollars in potential opportunities. Since then, she has been adamant about speaking out against him because his “lie has cost me 12 years of my career.” Oprah served as a producer on the film.
Additionally, Mo says Oprah “betrayed” her by allegedly having Mo’s family on her talk show behind her back. The comedian had been vocal about how her brother, Gerald Imes, had molested her when she was a child, and Oprah said he wanted to come on the show and apologize. During her appearance on Club Shay Shay, she said she told Oprah she wanted nothing to do with him, but she was grateful she reached out. However, she started seeing commercials including her parents and other brother, leaving Mo to feel blindsided.
“You betrayed me, sister,” Mo’Nique said at the time. “Had Oprah Winfrey said, ‘I’m [going to] have your mama [on the show]’ I would’ve said shut that sh*t down.”
In more recent interview on the Outlaws With TS Madison podcast, Mo’Nique spoke about how the only way she’d stop her tirade against Perry is if he issued a public apology. She insists because the damage affected her public career, his efforts to fix it should be just as loud.
“You publicly shamed me, so now you have to publicly fix it. Tyler Perry you cost my family millions, and millions, and millions of dollars,” she said.