Mo'Nique is opening up about her now-infamous "blackballed" comments.
Less than two weeks after the 47-year-old actress made headlines for her controversial remarks in The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar winner, who took home the Academy Award in 2010 for her role in the Lee Daniels-directed film Precious, is now addressing her claims in a sit-down interview with Good Morning America, which aired earlier this morning.
In a candid essay in the Feb. 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, Mo'Nique wrote that director Lee Daniels told her she had been "blackballed" in Hollywood because she "didn't play the game," and in response, the 55-year-old producer issued a statement to THR saying, Mo'Nique's "demands through Precious were not always in line with the campaign. This soured her relationship with the Hollywood community."
"People were saying someone needs to teach Monique a lesson because she's not playing the game," Mo'Nique explained during her chat with GMA. "And she's going to get in her own way of winning this award because it seems like she's choosing her family over Hollywood."
Mo'Nique was previously criticized for her lack of campaigning prior to her Oscar win, and upon taking the stage to accept her accolade, she thanked the Academy "for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics."
Although the former Parkers star's speech instantly created backlash, Mo'Nique admitted it may have hurt her reputation, but insisted it has had no impact on her career.
"I had no idea because I don't think that Hollywood has turned its nose up to me," she said, when asked if she was aware that the industry had apparently shunned her. "I think that those are feelings that Mr. Daniels is having and then he said there were things that Monique, she didn't thank the producers and the studio. And that's just not things that you do. Well, it had nothing to do with the producers nor the studio. Mr. Daniels had a problem that I didn't say his name the night of the Oscar awards."
Speaking about Mo'Nique, the critically-acclaimed director previously told CNN, "It's show business. And you got to play ball."
Her response?
"I appreciate that comment," she said. "Because he's absolutely right. It is show business. A game does have to be played but why can't we play the fair game? Why can't we play the right game? If you're asking am I willing to put my integrity on the line for Hollywood? No."
She continued, insisting that she's still getting calls for work, in spite of Daniels' remarks. "Again, if I had, the scripts and the calls would have stopped coming because Hollywood is a small community," she says in response to the claims that she's "soured" relationships. "They never stopped coming."
"Please don't feel bad or sorry for Mo'Nique," she continued before concluding, "Because Mo'Nique doesn't feel bad or sorry for Mo'Nique. You would be wasting your energy."