Mo’Nique’s five-year-long standoff with Netflix is nearing its exciting conclusion. The legendary comedian’s lawsuit against the company, filed in 2019 after she was offered $500,000 for a comedy special in 2018 — a figure she alleged was evidence of gender and racial discrimination — was settled in 2022 for undisclosed terms, and now she’s capping off the saga in the most fitting way possible: with a new Netflix special titled My Name Is Mo’Nique. It’s safe to say that the boycott she called for in 2018 in retaliation for the unfair lack of parity between her compensation offer and that of male or white counterparts like Dave Chappelle ($20 million), Chris Rock ($20 million), and Amy Schumer (who negotiated up from $11 million) is over. “What’s going down? Fuck what they said. I told you Netflix would come around,†an associate freestyle raps in a promotional video.
Having fought hard for this special, Mo’Nique is determined to make the most of it. “When you turn your TV off from this one, you’ll say, ‘Now we understand that woman,’†she says in the clip. “There are things I’m going to say in this comedy special that I thought I would take to my grave. They were just mine. They were my thoughts. They were my secrets. It was just mine. Before, I was just focused on being funny. Now, I feel like I have something to say.â€
Directed by L. Frazier, My Name Is Mo’Nique debuts on Netflix on April 4.