This year, actress and comedian Mo'Nique got the gears turning on a controversial topic of the role of black women in the entertainment industry when she made public the details of a potential deal with Netflix. It was in a clip posted to social media that Mo'Nique explained that she was offered $500,000 for a comedy special on the streaming platform—an offer the Academy Award winner turned down because of what she perceived to be a disparate figure in comparison to her track record and the lucrative deals secured by her peers.
“I am asking that you stand with me and boycott Netflix for gender bias and color bias,” she said began. “I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle $20 million […] When we asked Netflix to explain the difference, why the money was so different, they said, ‘Well, we believe that’s what Mo’Nique will bring. We said, ‘What about my résumé?’ […] Why shouldn’t I get what the legends are getting?”
Her clip quickly went viral and sparked a heated debate over the legitimacy of her outcry. Since then, she’s received support from the likes of Jada Pinkett-Smith and fellow comedian Wanda Sykes, and now Chance The Rapper has thrown his hat into the ring of Mo’Nique backers.
In a series of concise tweets, Chance made his stance very clear. “I’m With Mo’Nique, “he penned in a first tweet. He went on to reference her I Could’ve Been Your Cellmate comedy special in which she famously performed for inmates at an Ohio correctional facility as proof of Mo’Nique’s leverage in the game. “Black women,” he wrote in one tweet. “You deserve better.”
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