Mo’Nique is far from finished calling out Tyler Perry. After the mogul condemned the industry’s mistreatment of Angie Stone, Mo’Nique fired back with an open letter and leaked audio (again), accusing Perry of treating her the exact same way.
Source: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM / Ian West – PA Images
As previously reported, Perry spoke at the late singer’s funeral and blasted the predatory music industry for failing to adequately compensate the songstress for her talent. The director said he was “angry” about it and ranted about the money owed to her before she passed.
“Y’all got to forgive me because I’m angry at the way she was treated. I did not know all the things that she was going through [until] recently,” he said about recently resurfaced claims that Stone was owed millions in unpaid royalties.
“To think that this woman was in the business for all of these years, and there’s a difference between performing because you want to and performing because you have to.
“All of those years, all of those songs, all of that money that was owed to her — where is it? It’s wrong, this is wrong, and I’m tired of seeing us struggle and go through things and work hard and not reap the benefits of what we were supposed to reap,” he added.
Unfortunately for Tyler Perry, Mo’Nique heard his comments and took to Instagram to call him out, accusing him of hypocrisy due to his past mistreatment of her.
In her letter, the actress—who has consistently claimed that Perry, Oprah, and Lee Daniels “blackballed” her—revealed that she and her husband, Sidney Hicks, have audio of Perry admitting his wrongdoing and promising to apologize.
“You condemned Angie’s mistreatment but labeled me “difficult to work with”—despite never actually working with me. How can you advocate for fairness while perpetuating the same treatment? We have audio of you admitting you were wrong,” wrote Mo’Nique.
2. You asked, “Where’s the money she’s owed?” Well, where’s the public apology you promised me in 2016? The false narrative you fueled blackballed me, costing me tens of millions. Where’s the restitution for that?
3. You spoke about being “tired” of Black artists not getting what they deserve. Yet, you asked me to promote Precious for free—without a contract, without compensation. How does that align with your message?
4. You preached about treating “children of God” with care. As a man of faith, where is your responsibility to act with love and truth? You assured me of an apology years ago, yet it has never come.
Unlike the music industry, which you rightly criticized, we have audio documentation of your actions. Shouldn’t you be held accountable, too? I truly hope your words at Angie Stone’s funeral inspire you to right the wrongs done to my family and me. You have the power to do so.
As you often reference scripture, let me leave you with this: “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?” (Mark 8:36) We await your response.”
Mo’Nique Leaks Audio Of Tyler Perry Phone Call
To further emphasize her point, Mo’Nique leaked a recorded phone call with the filmmaker, which she had previously leaked in 2020, amid Will Smith’s apology to actress Janet Hubert.
In the audio, Tyler can be heard telling Mo’Nique that “it’s heartbreaking” to hear that he upset her. He also noted that he wrote something with her in mind but ultimately decided not to send it because his distributor, Lionsgate, the same studio that distributed Precious that Mo’Nique claims, tried to get her to do promotional work for the film for free.
“I just watched your podcast and it really broke my heart and I feel you,” said Tyler Perry in the call. “For me, I’m not anyone that wants to hurt or upset anybody especially you. It’s just heartbreaking, I don’t ever want you to think that I’m trying to blackball.
I had written something and I was thinking,’ Should I sent this to her?’–but Lionsgate would’ve had a fit.”
Later in the phone call, he speaks to Mo’Nique’s husband, Sidney Hicks, and says he’ll address Mo’s blackball allegations on his next press tour. While he didn’t do that, he never outright said in the phone call that he’d apologize.
