Mo’Nique is finally getting her Netflix special.
About a month after settling her lawsuit that accused the streaming giant of gender and racial discrimination, the comedian-actress announced her Netflix special will arrive later this year.
“Can y’all believe this s—?” she laughed in a video posted through Netflix’s Twitter account. “I done came on home to Netflix.”
“Hey y’all, it’s your girl Mo’Nique and I’m so excited to share that I’ll be shooting my first Netflix comedy special,” she continued, before referencing her upcoming role in “The Deliverance.” “And in case you didn’t hear, I’m also reuniting with my friend, my brother, director Lee Daniels on the Netflix film ‘The Deliverance.’ You won’t want to miss either of them, so y’all stay tuned! And thank y’all my sweet babies. I love us for real.”
Additional details, including an exact date for the special, weren’t released. “The Deliverance” is set to feature Omar Epps, Andra Day and Caleb McLaughlin, among others.
Mo’Nique said Netflix offered her $500,000 in 2018 for a comedy special but refused to negotiate after she felt the offer was low. In 2019, the Oscar-winning actress sued Netflix and accused the streamer of systematically underpaying Black women, pointing out multimillion-dollar deals the company reportedly gave to Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais.
“I had a choice to make,” Mo’Nique said in a Instagram post at the time. “I could accept what I felt was pay discrimination or I could stand up for those who came before me and those who will come after me. I chose to stand up.”
“We care deeply about inclusion, equity, and diversity and take any accusations of discrimination very seriously,” Netflix responded in a statement. “We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair — which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.”
In June, it was revealed that the two sides had settled the suit and jointly asked a Los Angeles federal court to dismiss the case. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, but Mo’Nique’s lawyer Michael Parks told the Hollywood Reporter the issue was “amicably resolved.”
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