Mo’Nique has reportedly settled her discrimination lawsuit with the streaming giant Netflix.
In 2019, the comedian filed a lawsuit against Netflix, accusing them of racial and sexual discrimination after they offered her a paltry $500,000 for a stand-up special back in 2017. She compared the fee to Amy Schumer, who received $13 million and Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, who both received $20 million each.
Michael Parks, an attorney representing Mo’Nique, told The Hollywood Reporter that the matter had been “amicably resolved.”
At the time, Netflix flatly denied the allegations.
“We care deeply about inclusion, equity, and diversity and take any accusations of discrimination very seriously,” Netflix said. “We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair – which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.”
The “Precious” star felt that she, too, is a comedy legend, and the pay should reflect that.
“I am asking that you stand with me and boycott Netflix for gender bias and color bias. I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle $20 million,” she said in a video posted to Instagram at the time.
Mo’Nique then gained support for her boycott call, appearing on several major platforms to explain her side of the legal story.
“I couldn’t accept that low offer because if I did … I couldn’t sleep at night,” Mo’Nique said on Sway in the Morning in January 2018. “If I accepted $500,000, what does Tiffany Haddish have coming? If I accept that, what does the Black female comedian have coming? Because what they’ll say is, ‘Mo’Nique accepted this and she’s got that.’ So what do they have coming?”
In 2020, a federal judge overseeing sided with Mo’Nique’s view that Netflix failed to negotiate an opening offer consistent with its usual practice.
