Mo’nique and Oprah Winfrey’s feud has been going on for years and it shows no sign of slowing.
In the latest development, actress Mo’Nique wrote a message directed to Oprah where she once again called out the media mogul’s actions, but this time she targeted Oprah’s involvement in #MeToo while accusing the mogul of making her life “harder.”
In her lengthy open letter to the talk show host, posted to Instagram, she reveals she “felt compelled” to write to her after seeing the way Oprah allegedly treats people “who were accused of the same” crimes.
Recounting how the billionaire talk show host said she tries to find the “silver lining” in every situation when asked to comment on the sexual harassment allegation against Harvey Weinstein, Mo’Nique stated that Oprah is ”hypocritical” for her involvement in a #MeToo documentary on Russell Simmons and Michael Jackson.
She also accused the media mogul of making life harder for her after their first meeting when she was just 16.
Mo’Nique wrote;
Dear @oprah,
I felt compelled to write you this open letter after observing the disparity in the way that you seem to treat people, who were accused of the same allegations. You did an interview on the CBS Morning Show and were asked about Harvey Weinstein by Norah O’Donnell, and you said as it pertained to him that you “always try to look at the Rainbow in the clouds, whatever is the “silver lining”.
You also said “if we make this all about Harvey Weinstein then we have lost the moment”. When you either are, or were going to be a part of documentary on Michael Jackson, and Russell Simmons, how is that not making it all about them? Interestingly, Brother M.J. was acquitted, and deceased, so how is he not off limits? Russell and Harvey are accused of the same thing so in fairness how do you not “support” the accusers of both as you said you did with R.S. or you look for the silver lining for both like you said you did for H.W.?
The only difference between the two is there skin color and doesn’t H.W. have way more accusers? My personal experience with you is you’ve watched me as a black women be accused of being difficult for not promoting “Precious” internationally for Lions Gate, at Lions Gate, Tyler Perry and your request, despite the fact my deal was with Lee Daniels Entertainment.
And, how are you for black women when you hear Tyler on audio saying I was right and he was going to speak up but you or him still haven’t said a word? When I was sixteen and I meet you at your local show in Baltimore, I told you I wanted to be just like you when I grew up. You responded, “ you have to work really really hard”.
My sixteen year old self didn’t know that you in your silence in the face of wrongdoing, would make my life “harder”. Lastly, please consider standing by the people who are right and not just the “right people”.
Love you to life,
Mo’Nique
Like many feuding celebrities, Mo’Nique and Oprah were once good friends. In 2009, Mo’Nique starred in Precious, a role which got her an Academy Award. Oprah presented the movie along with Tyler Perry.
As also disclosed in her open letter, a large part of her feud with Oprah stems from when they worked together on Precious in 2009. She said she refused to do additional campaigning for the award-nominated film, as Lionsgate, Lee Daniels and Oprah requested, because they wouldn’t pay her for additional time worked.
In an interview with Periscope, Mo’Nique also accused Oprah of hosting a talk show which her mother she is in bad terms with appeared on with one Gerald who allegedly sexually abused her.
The Oscar winner went on to say that she didn’t fully stick up for herself the next time she spoke to Oprah about the incident, because she was worried about offending one of the biggest celebrities in the world. But, she told herself that she would be honest the next time she saw Oprah who claimed she didn’t know that her parents would go to the show taping.
Mo’Nique said that she confronted Oprah at a party for then-Oscar nominee Lupita Nyong’o in 2013. Oprah reportedly apologized at the party but Mo’Nique believed that it wasn’t sincere. She has also called out Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels, noting that the pair along with Oprah had her blacklisted in Hollywood following her Academy Award win.
Oprah on the other hand, has been facing heavy backlash over her After Neverland special with Michael Jackson’s Leaving Neverland accusers. Then, most recently, her inclusion with the Russell Simmons documentary where a number of women who accused the Def Jam mogul of sexual assault and/or misconduct was called into question.
Oprah recently shared that she was removing herself from the Russell Simmons documentary, not because of the pressure she says Simmons put on her, but because she didn’t agree with the creative direction of the documentary. Accordiing to her, the disagreement with the filmmakers caused her to split from the production.
