Why Mo'Nique Defended Roseanne Barr After Her Controversy
For better or for worse, Hollywood has become about 'canceling' celebrities who have offended, caused controversy, or straight-up abused their power. In some cases, such as the criminally convicted Harvey Weinstein, this is unquestionably a good thing. In some cases, stars who have been canceled have made a comeback. But these are few and far between and are almost always celebrities who have done questionable things that not everyone believes are as big of a deal as the media makes them out to be.
On top of this, the hierarchy of questionable behavior/comments and straight-up criminality is often forgotten in the culture of cancelation. Additionally, there appear to be different rules for different stars. For instance, Mel Gibson has barely faced repercussions for repeated instances of Anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, and threats of physical violence. Why hasn't he been canceled?
Roseanne Barr, on the other hand, is done.
And some celebrities like Precious star Mo'Nique absolutely disagree with that.
Why Mo'Nique Will Not 'Throw' Roseanne Away
Roseanne Barr has made some truly whacky and controversial comments over the years... In fact, it's one of the reasons she was repeatedly given work in Hollywood. She's downright entertaining, funny, and wholly unpredictable, for better or for worse. Not only that, but she's responsible for one of the most relatable and beloved sitcoms of all time. And it was during the revival of this sitcom in 2018 when she was canceled.
In 2018, Roseanne, who has become increasingly more conservative over the years, Tweeted a comment about a politician that many believe was entirely racist. Whether or not racism was the intent of the Tweet is in the eye of the beholder and whether or not Roseanne's apologies were sincere also is. But the result has been her permanent cancelation in Hollywood, and this is something her comedian and actor friend, Mo'Nique disagrees with.
During her interview on KTLA in July 2018, Mo'Nique shared her thoughts on the Roseanne Barr controversy which was unfolding in the press. In fact, she went on with the intention of defending the disgraced comedian, producer, and sitcom legend.
"Roseanne Barr is my sister in comedy and she's my universal sister," Mo'Nique said, immediately becoming emotional. "And what I won't do Sam [the interviewer] is throw her away for making a mistake. We've all said and done things, baby, that we wish that we could take back and swallow and say, 'Oh!'. But when you're in the public eye, you can't. And it's out there. To put the title of 'racist' on her... I can only share my experience with Roseanne. I remember when I had The Mo’Nique Show and there were big, major, black superstar talent that had white representatives and they told their talent that show was ‘too black’ and we really don’t want you to go on there. But there was a white woman named Roseanne Barr that showed up for me when people that looked like me [didn’t]."
While many stars were turning Mo'Nique down, Roseanne was quick to come and support her. On top of this, the two of them connected when the cameras weren't rolling, according to People.
"That woman was giving me some beautiful words. And she said, 'Mo'Nique, I'm going to tell you right now, baby, they are going to consider you difficult. They are going to call you the B-word. Because you're a woman who won't lay down and take that foolishness.'"
The Friendship Between Mo'Nique And Roseanne
While Mo'Nique claimed that her experience with Roseanne was anything but racist, she did say that what Roseanne Tweeted a wrong. She just didn't want the world to throw Roseanne away.
"Yes, my sister made a mistake. And she said something that I know she wished you could take back. But what I would ask is that we don't throw her away," Mo'Nique said during the KTLA 5 interview. "The consequences are what the consequence is. But I know what it is, Sam, to be thrown away based off of a lie. I know that feeling to have to fight for something when you're only fighting for equality. You're fighting for what's right and what's fair. So, when I see my sister -- who said something out of order and out of line, she did, we cannot dress it up."
"We keep teaching all of this Christianity and all of this forgiveness. But when we're right in it, we seem to forget about that," Mo'Nique continued. "I want to say to my sister, I love you, I know you made a mistake, I know you messed up, but I still won't throw you away."
Months later, Mo'Nique went on The Jam and continued to explain why she wanted the world to forgive Roseanne for her mistake. She also went on to explain that while the Tweet was racist and a mistake, Roseanne has been fighting for equality in the workforce for years. Specifically, she was actively trying to get more people of color on her promotion team and gave voice to Black artists while producing a Malcolm X documentary.
Regardless of whatever people may think about Roseanne, her Tweet, or her cancelation, it's clear she has a friend in Mo'Nique.
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