Let’s Go Over Mo’Nique’s Claims

Racial Bias: Mo’Nique claimed that Netflix is racially biased. Well this claim can easily be refuted with her own examples of both Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock being offered large sums of money for their comedy specials. Well, that was easy enough. We can now move on to the next claim.

Gender Bias: Mo’Nique also claimed that Netlix was guilty of gender bias. Okay, this one can be addressed a bit more. Mo’Nique brings up Amy Schumer as her prime example to cite racial/gender bias. She also brought up Wanda Sykes as another example as a black woman who was offered even less money ($250K) for a comedy special. Now there’s a tricky situation here, because now Mo’Nique would have to find a way to explain away the huge deal Netflix offered to Shonda Rhimes.

If anyone has even heard of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, or any of Shonda Rhimes’ past work, then you can easily see the difference maker: relevancy and demand. While it’s unfortunate that Wanda Sykes may only command $250K for a comedy special, that probably stems more so towards her relevancy or lack of demand. Rhimes is so talented that she generates a huge amount of demand for her work. As of right now, that can’t be said of either Sykes or Mo’Nique (but we’ll get into remedying that in a few.)

“Most Decorated” Comedian Alive: See Whoopie Goldberg and Bill Cosby. Moving on.

Resume: In this claim, Mo’Nique wanted to bring up her resume. She tried to allude to Netflix’s hypocrisy of not looking at resume’s, while Netflix then allegedly pointed to Amy Schumer’s resume to justify their offer. This is where things get even more bleak.

I took a moment to go look up Mo’Nique’s resume on IMDB. They typically will offer what the artist is most known for within their acting catalog. While The Parkers and Precious were probably her most notable work, they were also at least 9 years ago. (Did anyone ever see Domino?) To Mo’Nique’s credit, she did have her very own TV show called the The Mo’Nique Show and she’s made several appearances on other shows such as Entertainment Tonight.

Take a Look At The 6 Solutions For Mo’Nique

1) Create Demand:

If Netflix is offering an unsatisfactory amount of money, then Mo’Nique should take her business elsewhere. You can’t help what they will initially offer you. Go to TV One, BET, Comedy Central, or OWN (wait…never mind). Go to another outlet that will hopefully offer her more money. That way, she can know her actual worth with a second and/or third opinion. Not only that, but if she can get some higher offers, Mo’Nique could create a potential bidding war to drive up her pay day even more.

2) Go On Tour:

If there are no TV outlets making her offers, then she could do it the old fashion way. Go back to your roots and hit that road. Sell out some shows. Doesn’t matter if it’s Madison Square Garden or if it’s a local comedy club. If she can prove that she still has the juice, then that will justify her “legendary status”. If anything, it’ll give her way more leverage at the bargaining table.

3) Accept The Offer:

First of all, something is better than nothing. But there are positives in accepting this offer. One benefit is that Monique can fully utilize the now even bigger platform that Netflix is providing. I don’t know about you, but when I hear that Netflix signs a deal, that usually will pique my interest. They’ve been on a roll lately with their specials and selections. The other benefit is that Mo’Nique could create room to renegotiate. That is, after all, what Schumer did. She accepted her initial offer of $11M, and then renegotiated to $13M. If Mo’Nique accepts the offer, becomes a big hit with her Netflix Special, she’d be in a much better position to renegotiate another special for way more money.

4) Get a New Team

To my knowledge, Mo’Nique is currently being managed by her husband, Sidney Hicks. I would like to assume that Sidney and her management team do care for Mo’Nique a great deal. However, it would appear as though her current team is a bit out of touch. I get the impression that they are more focused with pumping up Mo’Nique’s ego, rather than assisting her to transition with modern times. (I mean, my goodness, is she using a flip phone to record her videos?) Right now, Mo’Nique needs the right group of people around her to help her create new opportunities outside of Netflix, build up her demand in the industry, not burn bridges, and be far more selective with her social media posting.

5) Social Media

Given the fact that Mo’Nique has become a bit more socially relevant with her latest claims, this may be a great time to use that relevancy to her advantage. This would be an ideal opportunity to promote an upcoming comedy tour or event. Right now, social media doesn’t appear to really be in Mo’Nique’s corner. That’s not to say that people online are supportive of inequality. The problem is that people online are becoming distracted with Mo’Nique’s perceived self-grandeur and her apparent obliviousness to her current state of irrelevancy. She can totally correct that by using this rising tide of attention to self-promote something positive, instead of becoming the new Tyrese of social media. (Refer to: It’s Time To Tell Tyrese Gibson To Just SHUT THE HELL UP!)

6) Stop Burning Bridges:

A few years ago, Mo’Nique made some headlines when she called out some prominent figures in the Entertainment industry. Most notably, she called out Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels, and even Oprah. Regardless of what the issue may have been, the manner in which Mo’Nique expressed herself came off as being unprofessional. Even if she was completely right in her position, the way she went about it only added fuel to the fiery rumors that she was “difficult to work with” and blackballed. If Mo’Nique wants to get paid what she believes her true worth may be, the last thing she needs to do is burn any more bridges. Especially bridges with the black elite in Hollywood who may actually be her very last line of support. (Russell Simmons has his hands full with his own problems.)

Final thoughts on Mo’Nique

It should be stated, without any question, a call for equality within the genders and races should be taken seriously. Had Mo’Nique done that, I don’t think she would’ve received the huge amount of criticism that she’s been getting online. She unfortunately had to make this issue personal. The moment she did that, she made the position and even her argument lose its footing. Personally, I wish nothing but the best for Mo’Nique. I hope she gets to earn the maximum amount of money she is due.

I also hope that if and when we decide to use the gender/racial card, that we have our ducks in a row first. Because no matter how legit you may feel your position is, it always boils down to how convincing your argument can be. Right now, Mo’Nique’s arguments have so many holes in them that people are distracted by her over-the-top comments rather than the core of her position. Hopefully if she follows the recommendations outlined above, then she’ll be able to add to her “legendary” resume for years to come. Even better, she won’t be issusing any more ridiculous requests for me to boycott Netflix. I still have to catch up on Black Mirror.