Anyone else feel that Mo’Nique is grasping at whatever she can to make her point felt? The stand-up comedian is currently suing Netflix over a matter of discrimination after being offered half a million for two comedy shows that she feels are worth a great deal more. Kevin Burwick of MovieWeb calls it pretty fairly down the line but the problem with this whole lawsuit is the reliability of Mo’Nique’s comedy and the idea that it’s worth as much as the other comedians that were cited, such as Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Amy Schumer. The breakdown of this is pretty simple, Mo’Nique, who has been successful in the past, believes she’s not getting paid enough in comparison to other comedians and as a result she’s claiming that it’s racial in some manner to offer her so much less, and sexist no less, since black men have been offered so much more. In other words, she’s not making enough and found the time to complain over it rather than do what she gets paid to do like everyone else.
It’s very true that celebrities make WAY too much money for what they do when those working to provide for their families take on menial and unwanted jobs for dirt cheap and can barely afford bills, rent, mortgages, and so on and so forth. Perhaps Mo’Nique needs to be reminded that while she is funny and talented she’s not on the same level as many other comedians. Seinfeld, Chappelle, and Rock are major stars that have gone on to much bigger and more successful careers than she has, which means that Netflix was bound to offer them more to secure their services. Once she starts putting up the same numbers then it would be more than expected for her to pull down the same money. But scoffing at half a million dollars to perform two shows isn’t just insulting in general, it’s an insult to the fans that look up to her since it makes her look like a spoiled diva that cries the moment she doesn’t get her way. Oh yes, she is an Academy award-winning actress, she has done wonders on stage and on screen, but the fact of the matter is when it comes to stand-up she’s still not quite worth as much as the other comics, apart from Amy Schumer perhaps, as her multi-million dollar deal was ridiculous given that she really wasn’t funny. Michael Blackmon of Buzzfeed has a few words to say on the matter.
Plus, the funny part about Mo’Nique talking about discrimination is that she’s released a couple of books in her time, one titled Skinny Women are Evil: Notes of a Bigg Girl in a Small-Minded World (yeah, a bit long-winded) and a cookbook titled Skinny Cooks Can’t Be Trusted. It’s true that the premise of each book is based on comedy and is likely to be taken as such, but in the current era one can’t help but call this a bit of hypocrisy since she’s calling out discrimination on the part of Netflix when she’s openly endorsing it in her books. Yes, they’re meant to showcase her sense of humor, and yeah, it’s easier to laugh at something than to sit around and trash on it all day, but still, in matters such as this anything and everything needs to be examined to bring up the motives that might have been put into play for this lawsuit against a streaming giant like Netflix. The ‘unfair business practices’ that she’s citing are simply put what is in Netflix’s best interest when it comes to paying for someone that, like it or not, is not a top-tier star. Does anyone realize that Mo’Nique, who used to be everywhere and blew up when Precious came out, has been sorely lacking when it comes to the level of exposure she’s had in recent years? Anyone saying no to this is obviously a fan that’s been glued to her career no matter which way it’s gone, but those that can actually step back and take a peek at the wider landscape might realize that she hasn’t been much of anything after Precious. Helena Andrews-Dyer of The Washington Post has more to say about this.
It could be the Oscar curse, it could be the fact that despite being a funny lady she really doesn’t have the career stamina to continue her routine on a constant basis, or it could be that she thinks she’s worth more than she actually is. But quite honestly no matter how many awards she’s won, or how many people want to say otherwise, Mo’Nique is not worth the same money that a lot of other comedians are. The lot of them are way overpaid, but in the end a lot of them are still a great deal funnier than she is since a lot of her jokes happen to be mostly about being proud to be a fat woman and how skinny people can’t be trusted. Seriously, who’s discriminating?
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