Mo’Nique is throwing her full support behind Taraji P. Henson by calling Oprah Winfrey out for failing to stand behind her “sisters.”
via: HotNewHipHop
Taraji has been making headlines in recent weeks for raising issues with the way cast members were treated while working on The Color Purple. Countless fans and peers have chimed into the conversation, noting how Black women in the entertainment industry have always been treated unfairly, and undervalued by their white and male counterparts. Amid the discourse, various users have also noted how Mo’Nique raised similar concerns to Henson’s years back, though hers weren’t recognized nearly enough at the time.
During a recent Golden Globes interview, Oprah Winfrey chimed in on the controversy surrounding The Color Purple, which she co-produced. “Everything got handled,” she said of issues on set. “It’s so disturbing to me because why is my name even in this conversation? I’ve been the champion for everybody.” Mo’Nique has now responded to Oprah’s comments, however, and she thinks otherwise.
“Everything was, ‘Didn’t I champion for y’all?’ I was like, ‘Stop it. You didn’t champion for those Black women, for our sisters,” Mo’Nique told The Root this week. “What [she] did was, ‘We can treat them like we always treat them, who gon’ check me boo? I’m Oprah Winfrey.'” She went on, noting how the issues raised should have been handled before the women stepped on set. “You know everything should have been done when you showed up…Now when you hear our beautiful sisters saying, ‘yeah but it got fixed,’ it’s like we’re making it worse.”
“So, when Oprah Winfrey sits at the helm and Taraji P. Henson says, ‘It’s an honor that we were hand-picked for this movie,’ Well, if they were hand-picked for that movie, those women should have been taken care of from the moment go.”
For more from Mo’Nique check out the full interview over at The Root.
