Rapper 50 Cent has called on Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry to apologize to Mo'Nique, claiming they used their influence to "damage" her career.
Comedian and actress Mo'Nique—real name Monique Angela Hicks—has previously alleged that the entertainment titans blackballed her after she refused to hit the awards circuit for her 2009 movie Precious for free.
Winfrey and Perry were executive producers on the independent drama, which was directed by Lee Daniels and also starred Gabourey Sidibe, Paula Patton and Mariah Carey. Despite her refusal to campaign during awards season, Mo'Nique won a host of accolades for her performance, including an Oscar.
On Tuesday, Power producer 50 Cent—real name Curtis James Jackson III—posted on Instagram to urge Black filmmakers to cast her again.
He wrote: "I'm sure Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry would not want to continue to allow [their] influence to damage @therealmoworldwide career and this has gone on for way too long.
"So now would be a great time to apologize because I'm gonna put her back on," he concluded, adding: "I don't miss!"
In a follow-up post hours later, the hip-hop star said he had talked to Perry about Mo'Nique—and the Madea creator had told him he had no issues with her.
Captioning a photo of Perry, 50 Cent wrote: "I talk to Tyler today he told me he never told anyone not to hire @therealmoworldwide and he is happy I decided to work with her.
"He said he couldn't speak for Oprah but he is sure she is fine with monique and has even brought her up for things monique has no idea about. I'm so happy for Mo right now... She Back."
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Winfrey, Perry and Mo'Nique for comment.
During an appearance on Turnt Out with TS Madison in February, Mo'Nique claimed that Perry had apologized to her in a phone conversation, according to Complex.
Mo'Nique also alleged that after their phone call, Perry declined an in-person meeting with her, saying it would only take place if her husband and manager, Sidney Hicks, was not present and she apologized to him.
Back in 2015, Mo'Nique told The Hollywood Reporter that she had been blackballed by Winfrey, Perry and Daniels.
The Parkers star said at the time: "There have been people that have said, 'Mo'Nique, she can be difficult. Mo'Nique and her husband can be difficult.' They could probably be right.
"One of the networks said to [Daniels] that I was "really difficult to work with." And I said, 'Well, that's funny, because I've never even worked with them, but OK.'"
"I was offered the role in The Butler that Oprah Winfrey played. I was also approached by Empire to be on Empire. And I was also offered the role as Richard Pryor's grandmother in [a Pryor biopic that Daniels had been slated to direct]. Each of those things that he offered me was taken off the table," she said. "They all just went away."
Daniels denied Mo'Nique's claims in a 2018 interview with TMZ, saying: "I fought hard for her to get that job [in Precious.] I wanted her to get that job. And she was paid her money. She was paid the money for the budget that we had.
"And for her to badmouth myself—and Tyler and Oprah—is disrespectful and it's wrong. She's wrong. She's out of pocket. She's really wrong.
"And I respect her [as an] actor, because she gave me her soul, but I gave her my soul. And for that, she was given the Golden Globe and the Academy Award."
He added: "It breaks my heart that she feels that we blackballed her. No one blackballed her. Mo'Nique blackballed her. And for her to continue to talk about Oprah and myself and Tyler, it's disrespectful."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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