Mo’Nique Is Still Slapping At Netflix For Cheaping Out On Her
Mo’Nique recently called for a boycott of Netflix after she says they offered her $500,000 for a stand-up special. If I had money, I’d pony up at least $10 million for an Orange Is the New Black cross-over with a sequel to I Coulda Been Your Cellmate. But apparently Netflix and I don’t see eye to eye, and they’d rather give millions to Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, and Chris Rock.
Wanda Sykes chimed in and said Mo’Nique wasn’t the only black female comedian Netflix had done dirty in the wallet department. One of the arguments against Mo’Nique was that she just isn’t as bankable at Amy Schumer. Well, Mo’Nique would to talk about bankability.
Mo’Nique posted a video on Instagram yesterday, and with help from her husband Sidney Hicks and her many awards, she broke down just how profitable she is compared to Amy Schumer. And luckily, they did it in a way that was very easy to understand for a dummy like me: through crappy movies!
According to some research conducted via Box Office Mojo, Mo’Nique says that Amy’s 2017 film Snatched made $45 million domestically in 3,511 theaters on a budget of $42 million (it made almost $46 million, but who’s counting). In 2016, Mo’Nique appeared in Almost Christmas, a film that made a little over $42 million domestically in 2,379 theaters on a budget of $17 million. Mo’Nique lets you come to your own conclusion about who is the more bankable star by winking at the end, which I believe is standard financial calculation protocol.
Of course, Team Amy might argue back that Trainwreck made $110 million on a budget of $35 million. For those people, Mo’Nique has a second bankability follow-up argument.
Mo’Nique recently spoke about her situation with Netflix during an appearance on the Sway in the Morning radio show. She says she couldn’t accept Netflix’s offer of $500,000 because that would set a low standard for other comedians – like Tiffany Haddish – that follow her, and that it would validate people’s perception that she’s “difficult” and therefore not worth the money. Mo’Nique is worth the money, because she claims she’s “the most decorated comedian alive.”
Mo’Nique has tons of awards, like an Oscar, a BAFTA, a SAG Award, a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award, and she’s been nominated for a Primetime Emmy. So it’s not like she’s trying to pass off a bunch of dusty Teen Choice Award surfboards as legitimate acclaim. But still, she might want to talk to EGOT-winner Whoopi Goldberg about that whole “most decorated comedian alive” thing. Especially about just what kind of decorations she’s referring to. For example, Mo’Nique has never been nominated for a Razzie award. Meanwhile, Whoopi has been nominated for two! I don’t believe you can technically consider yourself truly decorated until you’ve been given a Razzie nomination.
Pic: Instagram