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Here’s How Director Lee Daniels' Apology To Mo’Nique Over Precious Fallout Paved Way For Their Reunion In The Deliverance
It took Lee Daniels and Mo’Nique a decade and a half to reconcile following their Precious fallout. But Daniels’ 2022 apology led to their collaboration on The Deliverance, now in theaters.
It took filmmaker Lee Daniels and actress Mo’Nique more than a decade to mend their broken friendship, which was practically a miracle, per the former. Daniels sat down with The Hollywood Reporter recently to promote his upcoming film, The Deliverance, which stars Mo’Nique, where he discussed their reconciliation.
The last project the duo did together was the 2009 drama Precious. During the promotional rollout of the film, the director and the actress had a dispute over her refusal to market it. Mo'nique's decision led Daniels to tell the Oscar winner she would be “blackballed” from the entertainment industry. After nearly fifteen years of estrangement, Daniels publicly apologized to Mo’Nique onstage in 2022.
“Wasn’t that God working?” Daniels told THR regarding Mo’Nique's casting in The Deliverance. “First of all, part of me trying to find my higher power was also understanding what that meant." He went on to say, "And that meant forgiveness; that meant apologizing, even if I didn't understand what I was apologizing for. I had to understand that she was hurt, and that is my sister, and that I love her.”
Elaborating on how he approached Mo’Nique about their reconciliation, Daniels said he was determined to not only apologize but to apologize publicly if that meant they’d collaborate on a film again.
In a March 2023 interview with the same outlet, Mo’Nique shared that the apology Daniels publicly issued to her at her 2022 comedy show in NYC was agreed upon during a phone call between the two. It was in the same conversation that Daniels offered her the role in The Deliverance.
The actress told THR last year that when she demanded her former friend publicly apologize to her because their fallout was public, he just asked her to let him know when and where he needed to do it.
Mo'Nique said that it has never happened in Hollywood history that a big director came out and apologized to an actress for wrongdoing.
The Deliverance is currently showing in select theaters and will be available on Netflix starting August 30.
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