Mo’Nique and Steve Harvey Get Into Tense Exchange Over Blackball Claims
Written by SOURCE on February 13, 2019
Mo’Nique and Steve Harvey‘s highly anticipated sit-down aired on Wednesday. And, just as many of you suspected, things got a little tense.
The Academy Award winner appeared on Harvey’s eponymous talk show to discuss her controversial treatment in Hollywood. Mo’Nique has claimed she was blackballed by the industry after she refused to campaign for the Oscar-winning film Precious without additional pay. The actress/comedian specifically called out entertainment heavyweights like Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels, who she claimed attempted to silence her during her pursuit of equality.
In early 2018, Mo’Nique called for a Netflix boycott because the company allegedly low-balled her. She said she was offered only $500,000 for Netflix special—a sum that was significantly less than what Amy Schumer and male comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle received.
During Wednesday’s interview, Mo’Nique said she was disappointed by the lack of support she received, specifically from Harvey.
“This is my brother, and when I heard you go on the air and you said, ‘My sister done burned too many bridges. There’s nothing I can do for her now,’ Steve, do you know how hurt I was?” she said.
Harvey said he supported Mo’Nique’s cause but did not approve of the way she went about it. He also described Mo’Nique’s struggle as “rich people problems.”
“Inequality is devastating and it’s extreme,” she told the audience. “And when people said, ‘Mo’Nique do you think calling a boycott was extreme?’ You damn right. But isn’t inequality extreme?”
Harvey then mentioned her 2017 standup show in which she told Lee, Daniels, and Winfrey to “suck my dick if I had one.” The talk show host said the comments distracted from the real issue and potentially caused more harm to her family, as it affected her career opportunities.
“When you tell the truth, you have to deal with the repercussions of the truth,” Harvey told Mo’Nique. “We black out here. We can’t come out here and do it any way we want to. Your husband can’t be the Sidney [Hicks] that he really is out here […] This is the money game. This ain’t a black man’s game, this ain’t a white man’s game. This is the money game!”
Mo’Nique responded by saying there were more important things than money.
“Before the money game, it’s called the integrity game,” she said. “And we’ve lost the integrity worrying about the money.”
Harvey replied: “If I crumble, my children crumble, my grandchildren crumble. I cannot for the sake of my integrity, stand up here and let everybody that’s counting on me, crumble so that I can make a statement. There are ways to win the war in a different way.”
Though it was a lively debate that prompted the comedians to raise their voices, it actually ended on an encouraging note. Harvey told Mo’Nique that he wanted to heal their relationship and “move forward so the world can see how great we all are.”
You can watch the interview in the videos above and below.
