Mo'Nique made headlines recently after calling for a Netflix boycott over what the comedian describes as a gender and color bias. During talks to sell a comedy special to Netflix, Mo'Nique was offended by the amount money the streaming company offered. She cited recent high paying deals Netflix offered to Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and Amy Schumer as evidence of her claims. Shortly after Mo'Nique called for the boycott, Charlamagne tha God called her out on The Breakfast Club. Now Mo'Nique is defending herself against being named Donkey of the Day to Charlamagne himself.
Before Mo'Nique opened up about her Netflix dispute, Charlamagne took a moment to explain wy he chose to name the comedian Donkey of the Day. “When I heard you say that you wanted us to boycott [Netflix] because of racial and gender bias … I wanted to know why did you feel like you should have gotten whatever Chris Rock got, whatever Dave Chappelle got, whatever Amy Schumer got … We all know Mo’Nique is a legend, but we also know that those deals that Netflix are giving out are based on recent stand-up shows,” the Breakfast Club host said.
Charlmagne went on to say that while he doesn't find Amy Schumer funny, “she did sell out 50 arenas around the world, including MSG, and HBO wanted her as well, so she created a bidding war on those stats, so I assume that’s the reason her number was at that place."
Mo’Nique, however, disagreed with Charlamagne's argument. She cited her recent box office success with the film Almost Christmas, which made $45 million with a $17 million budget. Schumer's recent film Snatched also made $45 million, however, it had a much higher budget of $42 million. These facts weren't enough to convince Charlamage that Mo'Nique's comedy special was worth the same as Rock, Chappelle, and Schumer.
“I just don’t understand how you can justify making $13 million in 2018 for a stand-up special … Was there a bidding war between platforms? Do you do the numbers in ticket sales that Chris Rock does, that Dave Chappelle does, that Amy Schumer does? … Why can’t you and [husband] Sidney [Hicks] book arena tours?” Charlamage challenged. “Have you received other offers from other streaming services? Or other places period?”
The interview continued to get heated as the two battled over whether Netflix lowballed Mo'Nique for her race and gender or if her comedy isn't currently worth what it used to be. Mo'Nique even refused to call Charlamagne by his chosen name, instead repeatedly referring to him as his government name Lenard.
Ultimately the two could not come to agreement by the end of the forty six minute long interview. Mo'Nique's parting thoughts on Charlamagne were that "he does not have a value on black women and women of color. Unless he knew all the information and he could back up his statements, but as we sit here and we did this interview, you begin to ask questions that you should have asked before you made the statements.”
Watch the full interview with Mo'Nique below. Do you agree with her or still feel like she deserved the title Donkey of the Day?