What did Tyler Perry say to Mo’Nique? Explosive blackballed allegations explored amid viral audio clip claim

Stand-up comedian and actress Mo’Nique recently appeared on the Club Shay Shay podcast and addressed her yearslong beef with Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels. While the first two were the producers of her 2009 Oscar-winning film Precious, Daniels was its director.

On February 7, during Wednesday’s episode of the podcast, Mo’Nique claimed that since she declined to promote their film during the 2009 Academy Award ceremony, the trio “blacklisted” her from Hollywood.

The Bessie star also claimed that she possessed a telephone recording of Tyler Perry confessing to her how he started the rumor that she was “difficult to work with.”

As per Daily Mail, Club Shay Shay host Shannon Sharpe confirmed to the outlet that she heard the recording for herself but decided against using it on the podcast. Meanwhile, Mo’Nique insisted the audio recording was “legal.”

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Everything you need to know about Mo’Nique’s alleged blackballing at the hands of her Precious colleagues

In February 2015, Mo’Nique told The Hollywood Reporter that Lee Daniels discreetly admitted to her over the phone that she was “blackballed” by him, Oprah Winfrey, and Tyler Perry, as she refused to “play the game.”

While Daniels did not elaborate on the matter, Mo’Nique figured out that he referred to her refusal to participate for “free” in the 2010 pre-Oscars promotional event for their 2009 film Precious, for which she eventually won the Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category. At the time, the stand-up comic didn’t mention the trio in her winning speech.

Now, during the recent Club Shay Shay podcast, Mo’Nique reiterated her previous statements and further stated how Lee Daniels declared he offered her The Butler when the reality was quite the opposite.

“As he said to me… 'Mo, at the time I didn't have no power, and I didn't have no money.' So, when Oprah said she wanted it, who played the lead role in 'The Butler?' Oprah Winfrey,” the actress claimed.

The former member of The Queens of Comedy also mentioned how a similar thing happened with an unreleased biopic on Richard Pryor, which she was offered but later axed from. Regardless, she said she made peace with Lee Daniels in 2022.

Additionally, Mo’Nique claimed to own an audio recording of her call with Tyler Perry, who once admitted telling everyone in Hollywood how she was hard to work with. Perry allegedly added how “wrong” it was of him and falsely promised to publicly clear her image after his 2016 movie Boo premiered.

The Blackbird star also claimed that Perry told singer Stephanie Mills that he would only ever meet her if her husband and manager, Sidney Hicks, were absent.

Thus, The Parkers actress demanded apologies from Tyler Perry alongside Oprah Winfrey, whom she claimed took away all the leading roles originally offered to her.

"You've been unfair, you've been unjust, and you watched the black woman be thrown under the bus, and you said nothing. This woman has overstepped with me in so many ways," she said of Winfrey.

The Grammy winner also added how she was no longer hurt personally but rather for their community as black women in Hollywood. She even said how Winfrey, alongside Perry, should go on Sharpe’s podcast to “address her claims,” as mentioned by Business Insider.

Besides, the 56-year-old comedian accused Oprah of “blindsiding” her by interviewing her estranged family on her show in 2010. She said that Winfrey never informed her that her parents would be on the show alongside her brother and later ignored her calls to clarify the issue.

“You betrayed me, sister,” she addressed the billionaire saying she would have shut down the show had she known better.

Mo’Nique claimed that she later met Winfrey at a party, and the latter apologized, saying her parents’ presence was unannounced. The Phat Girlz star added that the late Barbara Walters refused to interview her parents for The View around the same time, unlike Oprah.