Tag-Archive for » Mo’Nique «
Published reports say BET has put Mo’Nique’s late night talk show on indefinite hiatus. I told you last week about the reports of on set conflicts. I hear Mo’s husband Sidney Hicks was involved in those rumblings. The good news forMo’Nique is that she has signed on for a new movie project called Bumped. The Oscar-winning actress and comedienne said it took her a while to get around to acting again because she had been hard at work on her BET show. Looks like she’ll have the time now, insiders don’t expect The Mo’Nique Show to return.
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SIDEBAR: Listen if nothing else I’ve learn in life, you should keep business and personal
separate at all time. They do not mix together believe me. Now it looks as though it has
cost you your job – H E L L O somebody this is your wake up call darlin.
Internet reports claimed 2010 Supporting Actress Oscar winner Mo’Nique “refused” to be a presenter at this year’s Oscars, even though previous Oscar winners always present the next year (she won Best Supporting Actress in 2010 for Precious).
Word had it that she was upset with Oprah Winfrey for doing a show with her brother Gerald Imes, who had sexually abused the actress when she was a child.
Nonsense, says her manager and husband Sidney Hicks: She had to shoot two episodes of her BET talk show Monday in Atlanta, so she made a point to announce the nominees last month.
Mo’Nique is at war with her family. The Oscar-winning actress opened up a can of worms when she gave Oprah Winfrey permission to interview her family about her oldest brother, Gerald Imes, molesting her as a child. At first, Mo’Nique gave her blessing. Then she saw the direction of the show, and realized she made a mistake. Mo’Nique feels her brother lied about the details of the abuse, and he was not sympathetic enough towards her. Mo’Nique’s brother Gerald admitted molesting her from the age of 7 to 11. He says he did while she was asleep, but Mo’Nique says it happened while she was wide awake. She is now refusing to speak to her family, and she won’t go back on Oprah. Gerald, who claims he was molested as a child, was also sentenced to 12 years in jail for abusing another child. This matter should not have been on TV. The whole family should have gone to therapy. Now they will never find peace. Mo’Nique is coming to Philly on May 21st with a comedy show at the Liacouras Center.
It’s always a let-down when folks you’ve admired or respected from afar turn out to be jerks in person. Case in point: Gabourey Sidibe, the Oscar-nominated actress in the title role of “Precious.”
Y’all know how much I loved the powerful film from director Lee Daniels about an obese New York City teenager enduring unspeakable abuse at the hands of her parents. After Oscar night, I wrote, “I was rooting for Gabourey Sidibe for best actress. But the moment edgy comedienne Mo’Nique won the Oscar for supporting actress, I knew that the divine Sidibe was toast.” But after meeting Sidibe at the White House Correspondents dinner and hearing about others’ negative encounters with her, I’m putting down my pompoms.
I was thrilled to spot her at a table laughing uproariously with the man sitting to her right. “I know you’re having a good time and I’m sorry to interrupt,” I began. My next sentence didn’t come out because Sidibe shouted over the din, “Yeah, come back in five minutes!” Thinking she was joking, I laughed and pretended to walk away. When I noticed that the look in her eyes meant she was serious, I walked back to her and said, “I just wanted to congratulate you on your nomination. I thought your performance was spectacular. I even wrote a column about it.” After wishing her good luck, I rejoined my friends.
Back at the table, I sheepishly related the incident to my colleague Jo-Ann Armao. “Oh! She’s horrible,” Armao said in her wonderfully blunt way. She told me that she saw Sidibe at the pre-cocktails and told her that she’d seen “Precious” three times (an amazing emotional feat that only adds to my awe of Armao) and that she thought Sidibe’s performance was “incandescent.” What was Sidibe’s response? “I guess I should say, ‘Thank you.’”
At the MSNBC after party, the partner of a “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” producer said to me, “Look! There’s Gabby Sidibe. I’m going to ask her to take a picture with me.” I warned him, “She’s mean.” To which he said, “I don’t care. I just want a picture.” I didn’t see what went down, but the dejected fan came back and said incredulously, “She said no.” No doubt the constant interruptions and jostling are bothersome. Her ever-shrinking zone of privacy must be irksome, too. And there’s no law that says Sidibe has to show grace to her fans or appreciation for their kind words. But a true star would.
At a dinner for the BET Honors back in January here in Washington, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Oscar-nominated actress and singer Queen Latifah. To be honest, I expected to get the Sidibe treatment. Instead, Latifah was as interesting as she was interested. She greeted fans who came over with a smile and warmth that made people happy they worked up the courage just to say hello. Latifah knows that without fans she has no career. Sidibe’s behavior shows she has yet to learn that. How about checking that ego at
the door.