Mo’Nique is revisiting a long-discussed moment from her career and directing her thoughts to fellow entertainment icon Whoopi Goldberg.
In a new Instagram post shared on Monday, March 9, the Oscar-winning comedian and actress published an open letter addressed to Goldberg, reflecting on their tense on-air exchange during a 2018 appearance on The View.
The letter was inspired by Mo’Nique revisiting footage from that episode, where she discussed the professional fallout she says followed her work on the 2009 film Precious.
At the time, Mo’Nique argued that she had fulfilled her contractual obligations for the movie and declined additional promotional appearances overseas because she said she was not being compensated for the extra work.
During the segment, Goldberg pushed back on that position, telling her she could have “schooled” Mo’Nique on what is typically expected when promoting a film.
Mo’Nique later revisited the exchange on Instagram, saying the conversation reads differently years later. “The tone of the comments today seems different from the energy eight years ago,” she wrote, noting that many people now appear to agree with her stance about refusing unpaid work outside a contract.
Addressing Goldberg directly, she added, “I wonder, have your feelings changed since that time?”
In the letter, Mo’Nique also referenced a past legal dispute involving Goldberg and the 1995 film Theodore Rex, in which the actress reportedly argued she never formally committed to the project.
Mo’Nique wrote that discovering the case made her question Goldberg’s earlier criticism. “You can imagine how confused I was when I discovered this,” she said, pointing out that her own explanation—that her contractual obligation was only to Precious director Lee Daniels—did not appear to shift Goldberg’s view at the time.
The conversation around Precious has followed Mo’Nique for years. After winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2010, she has said that she was later “blackballed” in Hollywood.
During her 2018 appearance on The View, she attributed part of the decline in her opportunities to disputes involving Daniels, Lionsgate, and producers Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey over promotional expectations for the film.
Perry later acknowledged privately that calling her difficult was wrong, according to Mo’Nique, though she said he has not publicly corrected the statement.
The broader dispute also overlapped with Mo’Nique’s public campaign for pay equity in entertainment, including a boycott of Netflix after the company offered her a comedy special deal she said was significantly lower than what other comedians received.
Mo’Nique concluded the open letter by questioning whether Goldberg’s perspective has changed over time and whether industry veterans should advocate more strongly for those coming up behind them.
The post ended on a personal note directed at Goldberg: “HEY MY SISTER @whoopigoldberg I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL. I LOVE US 4REAL.”
Representatives for Goldberg have not publicly responded to the message.