Mo’nique appeared on the internet recently asking that we boycott Netflix because of gender bias and race bias. The long and short of it is Netflix offered Monique and Oscar Award winner 500k to do a comedy special after paying Amy Schumer a white woman comic 13 million for hers.

For the past few years, Mo’nique has ostracized herself from the industry for speaking her truth and calling out Black Hollywood’s elite by name. Oprah, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels are her main targets. Because of this Mo’nique says she has been blackballed. This recent lowball offer made by Netflix is the most recent example of Monique’s treatment from the industry.

In recent news, it has been reported that Black-Ish star Tracee Ellis-Ross is getting paid substantially less than her male co-star Anthony Anderson and she has threatened to make fewer appearances on the show. She is being supported by the #TimesUp movement.

The #TimesUp movement was created to address sexual assault, harassment, and inequality in the workplace. Whats makes Mo’nique’s situation different than Tracee Ellis-Ross.

After watching Mo’nique’s explanation on Sway in the Morning I’ve come up with 5 reasons that we should support Mo’nique.

5. The Parkers

Mo’nique played a single mom who decided to go back to school and change her life. The in again off again tension between her and Mr. Olgivie is worth the price of admission.

4. Her Weightloss

Witnessing how much weight she has lost since the beginning of her career is pretty amazing. This is coming from a woman who at one point had a disdain for “skinny bitches”

3. Her performance at the 2003 BET Awards

Plus size women  and BBW’s across the country were jumping out of their seats as Mo’nique performed Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”

2. Precious

Mo’nique got paid 50k to do an independent film. She embodied and bodied her role so well that she won an Oscar for it. However, since that has happened she’s been treated like an up and coming artist struggling to be noticed for her obvious talent.

1. Black Unity

This may not be the issue for you. Maybe you are not a Mo’nique fan. I get that. Over the course of the past 5 years, we have seen public lynchings of some of our best and brightest with the support of Black people.

What makes Mo’nique’s gripe any different than any other woman’s grip from the #timesup movement? At what point do we really start supporting our own? Right now we don’t have the leisure of watching us get picked off from a balcony every other month. If this is not issue for you so be it, but we have to come together for real for us to shake this mental illness and start building some real influence.

-Precise

Buy/Listen to “Speak Life” by Precise