Back in July comedian Mo'Nique was one of the few to come forward defending Roseanne Barr after she sent a racist Tweet about former Obama White House staffer Valerie Jarrett [click here if you missed that].
Mo'Nique stands by her word...
...in her latest interview with The Chicago Tribune
...That’s why, when people turned on my sister Roseanne Barr, I couldn’t do it. Because there were black entertainers who would not come on “The Mo’Nique Show” because it was quote-unquote “too black.” But when I called on my sista, she said (imitating Barr): “Where is it and what time you need me to come?”
And when she showed up, when the cameras weren’t rolling, she said to me: “Listen, you’re the real deal. Don’t let them use you up and take advantage of you, because they will. Don’t you let them do that to you.”
Now, a racist woman ain’t gonna say that to me.Q: But her tweets were blatantly racist.
A: I’m gonna say this: We’re comedians. And I know her. And what she thought was funny, as a comedian, that’s what it was.Q: But wait, you challenged Charlamagne because you felt he was putting poison out into the community. You could argue that Roseanne, regardless of her intentions — and I would argue that her intentions didn’t feel humorous, they felt pretty dark — was putting poison out into the world.
A: When we talked privately — and we’ve talked privately a lot — she’ll break her jokes down and I’ll know where they’re coming from. She’s like, “Listen, you know how I grew up, so how could I start making fun of anybody? I’m not trying to hurt anybody.”.
Has she ever said, “Kill black people”?Q: I don’t think that’s the line someone has to cross in order for their words to be racist.
A: And I can’t argue with what you’re saying — I can’t, baby! But here’s what I know about this woman: She was behind the scenes fighting for the black (concert) promoters. Nobody knows that. She’s behind the scenes trying to push a documentary about Malcolm X with a brother who’s a Muslim.
So when I know about this these things personally, did my sista say some things in poor taste? Some people could say yes. But what I won’t label her is a racist. When she sends me a DM that says, “My love, we will rise again like the Phoenix” — a racist woman wouldn’t do that, would she?Go here to read the full interview.
