Mo’Nique is taking Tyler Perry to task over his funeral speech for Angie Stone.
The 57-year-old posted a lengthy open letter on Instagram Tuesday pointing out what she considers “unsettling discrepancies” in Perry’s treatment of her versus his words at the funeral.
“I recently watched your heartfelt speech at Angie Stone’s funeral, where you expressed frustration over her mistreatment by the music industry, Mo’Nique wrote on IG. “It struck me, and my husband Sidney, as poignant, but also made us reflect on some unsettling discrepancies in your actions towards me.”
She added: “You expressed anger over Angie’s mistreatment. Yet, you labeled me ‘difficult to work with,’ despite never having worked with me. How can you condemn poor treatment of others when you’ve imposed the same on me? We have audio of you admitting you were wrong.”
“You asked, “Where’s the money she’s owed?” Well, where’s my public apology that you promised in 2016? The false narrative you perpetuated helped blackball me, costing me tens of millions. Where’s the restitution for that?,” she added.
This follows Perry’s passionate speech at Stone’s funeral last Friday (March 14), where he blasted the music industry for its treatment of the late singer.
“Y’all gotta forgive me because I’m angry at the way she was treated,” said Perry, 55, during the service as seen in a clip circulating online.
He added, “I did not know all the things that she was going through. Recently, I found out ‘cuz … I’m not on Instagram … So I don’t see everything. But to think that this woman was in the business for all of these years—and there’s a difference between performing because you want to, and performing because you have to.”
Mo’Nique then highlighted that Perry criticized Stone’s unpaid royalties but asked her to promote her 2009 film, Precious, “for free, without a contract or compensation,” which she calls a “double standard.”
“You said we should be careful in how we treat ‘children of God.’ As a man of faith, where is your responsibility to act with love and truth?” Mo’Nique continued in the letter. “You promised me an apology years ago, but it’s yet to come. Unlike the music industry, which you rightly criticized, we have audio documentation of your actions. Shouldn’t you be held accountable too?”
The actress and comedian included audio clips of a phone call where she and her husband, Sidney Hicks, confronted Perry about these issues.
“In closing, I hope your words at Angie’s funeral inspire you to correct the wrongs done to my family and me. You have the power to do so. As you’ve shared biblical teachings, please remember: “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul” (Mark 8:36). We await your response,” she ended the letter.
Perry, whose social media accounts typically only share updates on his film and TV projects, hasn’t yet responded to Mo’Nique on those platforms.
