Sheryl Underwood Reacts To Mo’Nique Dragging Lee Daniels & Oprah: “Somehow We Have to Settle This”
Sheryl Underwood Reacts To Mo’Nique Dragging Lee Daniels
After seeing her friend and fellow comedian Mo’Nique call out Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels and Tyler Perry over the weekend, Sheryl Underwood addressed the matter. Having been in Mo’Nique’s position before, Sheryl empathized with her but asked that all parties find a way to come together and work through their differences. Check the excerpts below:
On Her Friendship with Mo’Nique:
When we got into the game, we wanted to change the game. So whatever the rule was we wanted to kinda bust that rule open and Mo’Nique gave me one of my first jobs. She was one of the first comics who had her
own club as a female.
On Lee, Tyler, Oprah and Mo’Nique Settling Their Differences:
I would say that this is unfortunate because we love Lee Daniels [and what he’s doing], we love Tyler Perry, we love Oprah Winfrey and if] there’s a way for us to settle this…she’s an amazing actress and an amazing comic – so somehow we’ve got to settle this together.
On Comedians Using Their Platforms to Address Personal Issues:
The hard part about this is other people make demands and they still get to work. […] I’m not saying I agree with what she did, I’m just saying I’m concerned about my friend right now. […] when you in a comedy club everyone’s got a camera now — how can you voice your frustrations through humor? That’s something that some of us do as comics.
On Being A Former Name on The “Life’s Too Short List”:
I had to do the redemption tour. I was very strident and “Nah, this ain’t right. Nah, this is wrong.” When you get that reputation of being argumentative and I was doing a lot of things that sabotaged my career, but I sat down with somebody I respected and go, “Tell me what’s happening here.” They were person enough to tell me to my face, “You are blowing this and if you don’t shut the hell up, you’re going to blow your life and your career.