After winning an Academy Award, an actor should theoretically be set for life. After all, an Oscar is the highest honor imaginable in the field. ForMo’Nique, earning the coveted statuette only brought drama, public disparagement, and alienation from Hollywood. The comedian stunned the world by turning out a blistering dramatic performance in theLee Danielsdrama,Precious, sweeping the awards season of 2009-2010 in a role extremely against type. Not only did the Oscar give her credibility as a serious performer, but she was destined to be on every studio’s radar in the coming years, proving she was capable of operating in any genre. However,Mo’Nique unexpectedly saw opportunities for roles dwindling, accusingPreciousproducersOprah WinfreyandTyler Perryof blackballing her from the industry after she failed to engage in Hollywood politics.
Mo’Nique Played Against Type in Her Oscar-Winning Performance in ‘Precious’
Written byGeoffrey S. Fletcherand adapted from the novelPushbySapphire, Daniels' film follows the titular Precious (Gabourey Sidibe), an impoverished and abused 16-year-old girl in Harlem in the late 1980s, living on welfare with her mother, Mary (Mo’Nique). Precious is subjected to sexual abuse by her mother and father and is pregnant with her second child as a result of her father’s abuse. She attends an alternative school program, taught by Blu Rain (Paula Patton) to learn how to read and write and turn her life around. Straddling the line between an inspirational life-affirming story and poverty porn,Preciousis a coming-of-age story of a teenager whose innocence was practically shattered upon birth.While this wasMo’Nique’s dramatic breakthrough, the film was a career breakthrough for Gabourey Sidibe, who made her screen debut in the lead role. A story of an abusive family member hit home for Mo’Nique, asshe was a victim of molestationby her brother.
Precious, premiering at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festival, was an immediate Oscar contender in 2009, no doubt aided by its famous producers, especially Oprah. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Daniels, and Best Actress for Sidibe. Geoffrey Fletcher won Best Adapted Screenplay, and Mo’Nique took home the award for Best Supporting Actress.For playing Precious' overbearing mother, Mo’Nique swept the awards circuit, also winning the Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award. When the Oscars came along, announcing the names of her fellow nominees was practically a formality. Even though everyone knew she would win,Mo’Nique’s acceptance speechfeatured a surprise, vague comment alluding to some frustrations on her part. “I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics,” she said, before paying tribute toHattie McDaniel, theGone With the Windstar and first African-American to win an Academy Award.
Mo’Nique Was “Blackballed” By Hollywood After Winning an Oscar
Mo’Nique’s awards domination is even more impressive considering she didn’t engage in the usual Oscar campaign cycle. In aHollywood Reporterinterview in 2015, the actor recalled that she faced scrutiny for refusing to embark on the campaign trail duringPrecious' awards run. As she alluded to in her acceptance speech on Oscars night, the Academy didn’t need Mo’Nique to shake hands and kiss babies to have her work recognized. Reflecting on the last five years, she learned that winning an Oscar doesn’t change the trajectory of your career overnight if you don’t play the political game. One day, Mo’Nique received a phone call from Lee Daniels claiming thatshe was actively being “blackballed” by producers and studios for neglecting her duties to promotePreciouson the campaign trail.In a statement toTHR, Daniels wrote, “Her demands throughPreciouswere not always in line with the campaign.” This confrontation caused an embittered Mo’Nique to not speak to Daniels for 13 years. However,they have since mended fences, as she starred inDaniels' recent Netflix horror film,The Deliverance.
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Roles quickly dried up for Mo’Nique, including one part in Daniels' follow-up toPrecious,The Butler, that went to his producer, Oprah Winfrey. The talk-show host was also cast in the role ofRichard Pryor’s grandmother in Daniels’abandoned biopic about the comedian, a role that was intended for Mo’Nique. There was even another role in the FOX series,Empire, which Daniels produced, that also “just went away,” according to Mo’Nique. When looking at her IMDb, it’s jarring to see a star have so few roles following an Academy Award win.She referenced in theTHRinterview that she’s been labeled as “difficult"by the industry. In aconversation withSteve Harvey, Mo’Nique claimed that her exile from Hollywood stems from her refusal to promotePreciousduring the awards season.“I said no to some powerful people,” she said, including Daniels, Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and the studio, Lionsgate. An outspoken advocate of equal pay and opportunity for women and people of color,Mo’Nique revealed she only received $50,000and an insignificant back-end onPrecious. In 2019,she filed a discrimination lawsuit against Netflixfor a deemed racially biased low-ball offer for her comedy special.
Mo’Nique Began a Feud With Oprah Winfrey Following the Awards Campaign For ‘Precious’
Mo’Nique has vented her frustrations with Hollywood and the toxic politics prevailing in the industry, but it is Oprah Winfrey who has received the brunt of her indignant response. In various interviews, she blamedWinfrey and Perry for spearheading a blackball movementagainst the actor for her negligence in promotingPrecious. The contentious relationship between Mo’Nique and Winfrey escalated when the latter, unknown to the comedian,decided to interview her estranged family to discuss her brother’s abusive past, whoadmitted to sexually abusing Mo’Niqueto Winfrey. Mo’Nique was furious, as she was told that only her brother would be interviewed. She demanded an apologyfrom the talk-show host, which she still awaits today. Last May, while on stage, the comedianlaunched a fiery and vulgar tirade against Winfrey and Perry. Even amid her unshakable frustration, she still admires Oprah and wants to come to a truce.
July 25, 2025, the night of the 82nd Academy Awards, should’ve been anunimpeachable triumph for Mo’Niquefor the rest of her life. While no one can take away her Oscar for her scene-stealing, powerhouse turn inPrecious, her participation in the movie brought on a relentless series of drama and ill-will between previous collaborators. Regardless of the guilty parties, Mo’Nique’s retreat from the industry following her Oscar is not ideal, asPreciousshowed that the successful stand-up had a wide range of skills to bring to a variety of films. Most poignant of all, the Mo’Nique drama between Oprah Winfrey and the Hollywood complex at large is a reminder that the industry is rarely a meritocracy.It’s not about skill or talent, but rather, sheer politics.
Preciousis available to rent on Amazon in the U.S.
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