Oscar Winning ‘Precious’ Actress ‘Blackballed’ in Hollywood

Actress Mo’Nique Hicks, who won an Academy Award in 2010 for her role in the film Precious, now says she has been “blackballed” by the film industry for refusing to play “the game.”

The former star of the UPN sitcom The Parkers and BET’s The Mo’nique Show won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as an abusive mother in Precious, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, she was recently informed she had been ostracized for not handling her Oscar campaign correctly.

She spoke with Precious director Lee Daniels, who broke the news:

I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago. And he said to me, “Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed.” And I said, “I’ve been blackballed? Why have I been blackballed?” And he said, “Because you didn’t play the game.” And I said, “Well, what game is that?” And he gave me no response.

She continued:

There have been people that have said, “Mo’Nique, she can be difficult. Mo’Nique and her husband can be difficult.” They could probably be right. One of the networks said to [Lee] that I was “really difficult to work with.” And I said, “Well, that’s funny, because I’ve never even worked with them, but OK.”

There may be people that feel that way about me. But I respect everyone, from the homeless brother and sister on the street to the executive that sits in the highest office named President Barack Obama. I respect everyone — but we over-respect no one.

The actress also stated that she expected to be rewarded with bigger roles and bigger pay after being given the accolade, something that never materialized.

Lee Daniels also issued a statement on the direction of Mo’Nique’s career, telling the Hollywood Reporter:

Mo’nique is a creative force to be reckoned with. Her demands through Precious were not always in line with the campaign. This soured her relationship with the Hollywood community. I consider her a friend. I have and will always think of her for parts that we can collaborate on. However, the consensus among the creative teams and powers thus far were to go another way with these roles.