Mo’Nique Slams Whoopi Goldberg In New Interview, “She’s Always Been The Help!”
Mo’Nique Slams Whoopi Goldberg In New Interview, “She’s Always Been The Help!”
It seems as though Mo’Nique and her never-ending campaign of calling out those she feels have wronged or slighted her, is not ending anytime soon. Her latest target is legendary actress/comedienne and EGOT recipient Whoopi Goldberg, who Mo’Nique says some not-so-nice things about in a new interview.
In the last few years, Mo’Nique has been vocal about her gripes with Hollywood, Netflix, Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels and Oprah Winfrey. She has accused some of blackballing and has commented that some of them are the reason why her career has been at a relative standstill since shortly after she won an Academy Award for her performance in the 2009 Lee Daniels film Precious. Now, in an explosive new interview, Mo’Nique once again details why she feels all of the aforementioned have let her down, betrayed her and are responsible for her current position in Hollywood.
[On Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels]:
“It’s disappointing. It’s disheartening. Oftentimes we are the ones who walk one another to the ship and we believe we going on vacation — only to go to the bottom of it. So, when I think of those three people, that’s the feeling I get. Because you know something is wrong, but you say absolutely nothing. And then when you hear Tyler Perry say, “Mo’Nique, you did nothing wrong, and when my movie comes out, I’m going to say it …” And when you also hear [Tyler Perry] say, “I really thought, had you played by the rules, your career would be different” — not by the golden rules, their rules — you have to ask yourself, ‘What does that mean?’”
However, Mo’nique’s harshest criticism was directed at Whoopi Goldberg, stemming from an appearance she had last year on The View. She stated that she didn’t understand or appreciate the advice Goldberg gave her in terms of what you have to do in Hollywood when it comes to promoting a movie, which refers to Mo’Nique’s refusal to promote Precious during its theatrical run leading up to the 2010 awards season. Mo’Nique said of Goldberg:
“When I sat there on that platform on ‘The View,’ I felt sorry. I had empathy for my sister Whoopi Goldberg. Because what you’re saying to me is, “You must work for free. I could’ve schooled you.” The very thing I went to ‘The View’ to speak about was the very thing I experienced on ‘The View.’ You give me three minutes to talk about inequality?
She continues,
Well, I was there the whole show. When you have a woman saying, “I could have schooled you,” someone would say, “What was the schooling going to be?” When I look at this woman you say is our icon and our legend — she is. But, how many things has Whoopi Goldberg executive produced? Whoopi Goldberg has always been the help, and I say that humbly. So, what is it that you’re going to school me on? I’ve been doing it for almost 30 years.”
Mo’Nique adds,
This is a woman who says, “I could have schooled you,” and this is a woman who accepted Ted Danson in blackface, and our community praises this woman. So oftentimes, we do it to ourselves. But, I just can’t. Understand, I love my sister. However, when you know you’re being fed the wrong food, you must say, “I can’t chew this, y’all.”
Mo’Nique wasn’t done and continued her verbal assault on Goldberg, accusing her of not caring about her or the next generation of female entertainers:
“Whoopi and I did have a conversation after that. I was up in Whoopi Goldberg’s dressing room — and you’re the first person I’m telling this to. I said to Whoopi Goldberg, “Listen, sister.” Because she said, “Mo’Nique, you gotta let that go. You gotta move on. People just wanna see what’s going to happen to you next.” I said, “Whoopi, I can’t let it go. I gotta think about the little sister who’s not here yet.” And our icon and our legend said, “You better stop worrying about the little sister who’s not here yet and worry about you.” In that moment I knew I was looking at a woman who didn’t give a damn about me. And if she’s telling me, “Stop worrying about that little girl who not here yet,” well, she forgot about the ones that came before her who were worried about her.”
She closed out the interview commenting on Tiffany Haddish’s response about her Netflix boycott, as well as her disappointing stand-up performance on New Year’s Eve that caused a wave of criticism for the Girls Trip star. She said,
“I understood it. And what I won’t do is throw my sister under the bus. And when my sister did have a bad moment, I said. ‘Y’all, I’m not gonna throw her away.’”
Tell us, How do you feel about Mo’Nique’s comments about Whoopi Goldberg? Do you think Mo’Nique is doing more harm to her career with her latest comments?