After winning her Oscar for Lee Daniels’ Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire in 2010, Mo’Nique thought that the movie offers would roll in. But that wasn’t exactly what happened.
In an essay for the Hollywood Reporter, Mo'Nique candidly discussed how she was treated by Hollywood after her Oscar win, as well as her relationship with Daniels. According to Mo’Nique, after her win, Daniels informed her that she had been blackballed because she didn’t “play the game”—meaning that that there hadn’t been heavy Oscar campaigning.
“I thought, once you won the award, that's the top prize—and so you're supposed to be treated as if you got the top prize,” Mo’Nique wrote.
Mo’Nique also proved that just because you have friends in high places, like Daniels, doesn’t guarantee you work. In fact, Mo’Nique was removed from two of Daniels’ projects.
“I was offered the role in The Butler that Oprah Winfrey played,” she says. “I was also approached by Empire to be on Empire. And I was offered the role as Richard Pryor’s grandmother in [Daniels' upcoming Pryor biopic]. Each of those things that he offered me was taken off the table.”
In response to Mo’Nique’s essay, Daniels released the following statement:
Mo’nique is a creative force to be reckoned with. Her demands through Precious were not always in line with the campaign. This soured her relationship with the Hollywood community. I consider her a friend. I have and will always think of her for parts that we can collaborate on. However, the consensus among the creative teams and powers thus far were to go another way with these roles.
Click here to read Mo’Nique’s entire essay.