INTERVIEWS: Mo'Nique Opens Up On Homophobia & Hollywood Backlash + Sherri Shepherd On Her Battle With Ex-Husband "Everything Always Works Out In The End"

Oscar-winning actress Mo'Nique sets the record straight about the Hollywood backlash she's supposedly experienced in the latest issue of ROLLING OUT.  Get her side of the story and find out how Sherri Shepherd keeps a smile on her face in spite of the legal fight with her ex-husband.  More inside... 

You can't accuse Mo’Nique of not "playing" the Hollywood game. In the past few months, we've talked about her struggle in Hollywood and her latest film, Blackbird (in theaters now), more than we ever commented on her Oscar-win for Precious, her sitcom "The Parkers" or her stand-up career. Score for her!

And in the latest issue of Rolling Out, Mo'Nique smartly keeps the "blackballing" conversation going, by talking about the supposed Hollywood backlash she received after demanding a salary worthy of an Oscar-winner. This conversation isn't going away...and we're here for it.

On her film Blackbird, and why she's producing the project:

“The point [is] acceptance and love and people really taking a stand to be what they had no choice in being. So when you see all of these things happening and when [co-star and co-producer] Isaiah Washington called our attorney, Ricky Anderson, and said ‘I really think Mo’Nique would want to get behind this’; by the time we got finished reading page one, we knew that it was something that we needed to and wanted to be involved with, because it’s necessary and it’s time.”

On Black homophobia versus other cultures:

“There was a time that I really believed it was harder in the Black community because that’s the community that I’m involved with most and that’s what I saw the most,” she says. “But once we began to take this to different festivals around the country, and you began to hear Latin brothers, Italian brothers, Asian brothers, Black brothers, White brothers — and they were all saying the same thing: ‘That’s my story.’ Most were saying ‘I was thrown away by my family’ or ‘the church didn’t accept me.’ So there was a time when I truly believed that our community was harder, but it’s all communities.

On healing in Black communities:

“It’s time that we have those open and honest conversations around the dinner table and in our churches — in the barbershops and in the beauty salons. When we have conversations where we walk away saying ‘Let me do the best I can and be the best human being I can be and treat people they way they want to be treated,’ overnight, [the world] just becomes a better place.”

On the "alleged" Hollywood backlash:

“How do I feel about the backlash? I don’t. Because I’ve never been afraid of the truth. I don’t know that I would use the word ‘backlash’ because when you say things that are true — what is a backlash? It’s just the truth. It’s not a secret, it’s not hidden. It’s the truth.

On being "difficult"

"When people say ‘Mo’Nique can be difficult,’ I understand why people can say that. When I was doing this photo shoot, I remember I was in my dressing room and I wasn’t dressed. And the stylist’s assistant, who was a young man, just walked into my room. It was a closed door. Did he knock? No, he just walked in and began to put some things up. But I wasn’t dressed. So I had to ask him to please excuse himself and not walk into my room again — it’s a closed door. Well, he said ‘I didn’t do that. The photographer walked me over and opened the door.’ He goes and gets the photographer — the door is closed, but once again, he doesn’t knock and walks in. I asked him ‘Where do you do that? Especially if you know there’s a woman on the other side?’ I said to him ‘If I were a different person, this photo shoot would go differently, but I’m going to need you to excuse yourself and do this the right way.’ Those types of things [portray] me to be ‘difficult,’ because lots of times people won’t say anything. They’ll just go along with it.”

On why she shoots down the "backlash" and "blackballed" theories:

"I don’t buy into that. There are just things that happen that we don’t want to really take responsibility for and it’s easier to say ‘Oh well, they were being a diva. They were being difficult.’ No one wants to tell the whole story. People can say ‘Mo’Nique is difficult’ just because I’m simply holding you to your word and asking you to be respectful. I understand why people say it, but we don’t always know the truth. How do I feel about the backlash? I don’t. Because I’ve never been afraid of the truth.”
 

Read the full article here.

 

In other interviews...

Last night, Sherri Shepherd appeared on "ET" where she opened up about the nasty legal battle she's having with ex-husband Lamar Sally. As we told you a few days ago, Sherri and her legal team suffered a loss when a judge ruled that Sherri must take legal responsibility for the child she and Lamar had via a surrogate (his sperm and another woman's egg). And of course...he'll likely get child support. SMH....

But through it all...she's keeps smiling. While promoting her upcoming movie Woodlawn, she spoke to Nancy O'Dell about:

Her frame of mind through the legal battle:

"Under the circumstances I'm doing really, really extremely well. I don't care what I go through, nothing gets me down. You know me. I will smile my way through anything. I believe smiling and laughter is the best medicine."

How she's handling the stress:

"Life is difficult. So you just hang tough and you keep going. People who know me, my character, my integrity — I feel it speaks for itself,"

Remaining hopeful for the future:

"I feel like everything always works out in the end. I'm a big believer that everything always works out in the end. Everybody has their challenges. So right now, it’s my challenge.”

EXTRAS:

1.  Yesterday, Floyd Mayweather arrived at the MGM Grand Lobby in grand fashion after an intro by Southern University's Marching Band for the unofficial kickoff of fight week. So.....who made the best Vegas entrance, Mariah or Floyd?

 

The Southern University "Human Jukebox" Marching Band brings out Floyd "Money" Mayweather's for his Grand Arrival. #HumanJukebox #FloydMayweather #TheBestofBothWorlds #TheBestEver #NobodyDoesItBetter

Posted by Southern University Marching Band on Tuesday, April 28, 2015

 

 

 

Photos via DeWayne Rogers/Sherri's Instagram

source: theybf