The comedienne Mo’Nique has gone on the warpath with Netflix as her target and it seems that she has asked the Black community to join in by boycotting Netflix. I’m not sure if she’s lost her marbles but what I do know is I will not be joining in such an endeavor.
I already have problems with the kinds of money that entertainers and athletes receive, particularly when compared to those who perform what I believe are much more important and essential tasks — like teachers, police officers and even journalists like me. The difference between the yearly incomes, not to mention the endorsements, are simply unbelievable. But in this U.S. economic model where supply and demand determine the final yield in pay, that’s just the way it is.
Thus, while I would never pay a football player or a hip-hop rapper the kind of money they garner, sometimes for just one gridiron showdown or one concert, I ain’t mad at them. Go get your money!
Back to Mo’Nique who has spewing fire like a crazed dragon because Netflix made her an offer to do a special comedy show that she says was not commensurate to offers previously made and accepted by folks like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle. Seems that Mo’Nique wasn’t feeling the $500,000 offer. Well, as Richard Pryor used to say, “That N is crazy.”
Let someone offer me the same amount and you’ll see me cracking jokes, singing songs and even performing a juggling act with bowling pins.
Word is Sister Mo’Nique isn’t the easiest person to work anyway — maybe she has some pent-up anger that she can’t get rid of. Even more, while she can be funny, let’s keep it real — she does not have the punchlines, stage presence or delivery of Chappelle or Chris Rock. Never had it — never will. And while I am not a Schumer fan, anyone who can fill Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, clearly has a fan base that would attract millions of viewers to a Netflix special.
Come on Mo’Nique, this is all about American competition and the quest for the almighty dollar and you have already benefited greatly from this system. My advice: either take the money or shut your mouth. But I am NOT boycotting Netflix. They are my go-to station these days, right behind CNN, MSNBC and SyFy. And for the record, I want to know what you’ve ever done for me or the Black press for whom I have dedicated the majority of my professional life in support of our endeavors. We haven’t even had the pleasure of being provided with an exclusive interview. Now you need us, huh?
As my other half likes to say, “Girl, Bye!”