Lee Daniels and Mo’Nique have reunited for the forthcoming Netflix feature Demon House, over 13 years after their first collaboration on the 2009 thriller Precious. Since Mo’Nique accused Daniels of blackballing her in 2015, the two have been locked in a long-running spat. However, on April 1, 2022, the duo decided to put their harsh past behind them and reunited at the Mo’Nique and Friends: April Fools Day with The Queen of Comedy event at the St. George Theatre on Staten Island.
A video of their reunion shows Daniels rushing onstage to apologize to a clearly upset Mo’Nique. He said,
“I sincerely apologize for any harm I may have caused you. And she was my best friend — my best buddy, y’all. You believe Precious was simply… That was God at work, working through both of us. And we’re f***ing going to do it again!”
The couple also performed a quick dance on stage before hugging and exchanging I love yous. They even posted pictures of their reunion on their own social media accounts. Octavia Spencer has withdrawn from the next Netflix film owing to a scheduling problem with her Apple TV+ program Truth Be Told, so Mo’Nique will take her place. The Almost Christmas actor will appear in the film with Andra Day, Glenn Close, Rob Morgan, Caleb McLaughlin, and Aunjanue Ellis.
A look back at Mo’Nique and Lee Daniels’ feud.
Mo’Nique and Lee Daniels initially collaborated on the murder thriller Shadowboxer in 2005. The pair then made headlines after collaborating on the critically acclaimed 2009 film Precious. The film also won the former Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Daniels and Mo’Nique, on the other hand, became embroiled in a feud after the latter accused Daniels, along with Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, of allegedly blackballing her from Hollywood after she refused to promote Precious during awards season without extra compensation and instead spent time with her family.
Daniels, Perry, and Winfrey all disputed the allegations at the time, and the former allegedly ceased speaking with Mo’Nique. The situation escalated further when the actress revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that she had not gotten the promised wage rise after her Oscar triumph. During the interview, Mo’Nique reiterated her previous claim that Lee Daniels had informed her she had been blackballed from Hollywood. She revealed,
“About six or seven months ago, I received a phone call from Lee Daniels. ‘Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed,’ he added. I’ve been snubbed? ‘How come I’ve been blackballed?’ ‘Because you didn’t play the game,’ he said. ‘Well, what game is that?’ I asked. And he didn’t respond.”
Daniels responded by telling the magazine that the actress’s demand was never in line with the Precious advertising strategy.
He said,
“Her Precious expectations were not always in line with the campaign.” This strained her connection with the Hollywood elite.”
The following month, Mo’Nique informed Good Morning America that Daniels apparently “had an issue” with her refusal to include his name in her victory speech at the 2009 Oscars. Daniels, for his part, informed TMZ that he never blackballed Mo’Nique. He said,
“I appreciate her [as an actress] because she gave me her soul, but I gave her mine.” And for that, she received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award… It pains my heart that she believes we have blackballed her. Nobody blacklisted her. Mo’Nique snubbed her. And for her to keep talking about Oprah, myself, and Tyler is rude.”
During an interview with Raq Rants, the director also said that he “worked hard” to win Mo’Nique the part in Precious and that the actress’ charges against him were false. He said,
“I worked really hard to get her that job.” It’s impolite and inappropriate for her to disparage myself, Tyler, and Oprah. She is incorrect. She doesn’t have any money. It’s not even worth discussing. She has to stop talking.”
In response, Mo’Nique ordered Daniels to “stop talking” and called him out again on Instagram. After years of feuding, the two eventually agreed to terminate their feud and restart their business relationship last week.
Was Mo’Nique’s Hollywood career “canceled”?
Mo’Nique was poised to become one of Hollywood’s most recognized personalities after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2009. Unfortunately, the actress got entangled in a highly publicized quarrel with Precious director Lee Daniels and began to distance herself from the limelight as a result. After being chastised for declining to promote her picture, the actress told CBS that she was only paid $50,000 for the film and avoided promotional appearances because the company refused to pay her.
She then stated that her choice to “respectfully reject” attending the Cannes Film Festival had taken her out of the spotlight. In addition, Mo’Nique slung shade when accepting her Oscar in 2009. She said,
“Thank you to the Academy for demonstrating that it is possible to focus on performance rather than politics.”
The actress also revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she was slated to star in The Butler and Lee Daniels’ Empire before winning her Oscars. Many people were upset by Mo’Nique’s verbal jabs at Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey during one of her stand-up acts. Furthermore, she ran into difficulties after trying to boycott Netflix on the basis of “gender bigotry and race bias.” She said that the streaming behemoth offered her $500K for an hour-long comedy special, which was far less than Amy Schumer’s $13 million pay scale.
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Mo’Nique filed a discrimination complaint against Netflix in November 2019 after the original boycott failed to gain support, claiming the streaming company discriminated based on her “gender and race/color.” Netflix described the complaint as “nonsensical” in nature in January 2020. Mo’Nique has mostly withdrawn from public view throughout the years. Her most recent significant film appearance was in 2016’s Almost Christmas, while she was most recently seen on television in 2015’s Bessie. However, the actress is now ready to make a return on Netflix’s horror flick Demon House with Lee Daniels.
