Mo’Nique, the American comedian and actress who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Precious, is taking Netflix to court.
Mo’Nique is suing Netflix and accusing them of racial and gender discrimination.
Mo’Nique claims she was offered $500,000 for a comedy special while others have received multi-million dollar deals.
In her court filing Mo’Nique states that Netflix has paid stars like Eddie Murphy $70 million and Chris Rock $40 million for their specials.
“The lawsuit shows Netflix treatment of Mo’Nique began with a discriminatory low-ball offer and ended with a blacklisting act of retaliation,” the court filing states.
Netflix responded with statement to The Hollywood Reporter which said:
“We care deeply about inclusion, equity and diversity and take any accusations of discrimination very seriously. We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair — which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.”
In January of last year, the actress called for a Netflix boycott because of how they negotiated with her.
“When we asked Netflix to explain the difference, why the money was so different, they said, ‘Well, we believe that’s what Mo’Nique will bring,’” she said. “We said, ‘What about my résumé?’ They said, ‘We don’t go off of résumés.’ Then we asked them, ‘What was it about Amy Schumer?’ And they said, ‘Well, she sold out Madison Square Garden twice and she had a big movie over the summer. Is that not Amy Schumer’s résumé?’ And then Netflix said, ‘By the way, we believe Mo’Nique is a legend, too.’ Why shouldn’t I get what the legends are getting?” she wrote.
Top Photo: Mo’Nique and D.C. Young Fly in Almost Christmas (2016). Courtesy: Universal Pictures.
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