OPINION | Kaycia Sailsman: Why I stand with Monique

When Mo’Nique mentioned that Netflix did not offer to pay her as much as other top comics like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle,…

When Mo’Nique mentioned that Netflix did not offer to pay her as much as other top comics like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle, she called on the support of people to boycott one of the most popular streaming services, Netflix. The initial response she received was negative, some people even bringing up that she may not be able to pull a crowd like other popular comedians.

The exact quote from Mo’Nique went like this: “I am asking that you stand with me and boycott Netflix for gender bias and color bias. I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, $20 million.”

This issue was heightened even more after she was named ‘Donkey of the Day’ on The Breakfast Club radio show hosted by DJ Envy, Charlemagne, and Angela Yee. During her appearance on the show Mo’Nique mentioned that due to his actions Charlemagne, did not value “black women and women of color.” That really struck a chord with me and I wanted to shift from Charlemagne and I want to open the question to all black men: why don’t black men value black women? I am not sure of the answers but here some questions that have.

  • Why does it always have to be a ‘side-eye’ when we bring up issues that affect us personally?
  • Why are our emotions not taken seriously?
  • Why is it always about playing the game and not about trying to change the game to make it fair for black women?

Black women give birth to black men and yet it still hard for black men to understand (or try to) the struggles that black women go through on a daily basis. The amount of times women of color have to be quiet out of fear or speak up on something that is and then be side-eyed because of it. When we do have the courage to speak about things that bother us, we feel like no one is in our corner to speak out about things that they have a problem with.

At first, I thought Mo’Nique was overreacting, but after seeing the Breakfast Club interview, I then realized fully what was happening. Mo’Nique has worked on different projects and despite the time that has passed she is still be able to pull in a huge crowd.

I stand with Monique, I understand her reasons for wanting to boycott Netflix, Netflix has given Indie creators alike a platform to showcase their work. However, for me the problem lies where black women do not have similar support when it comes to supporting a cause they think is unjust. Our issues are always met with questions, concerns, and comparisons to other experiences before our own. When will it end? When will black women finally be taken seriously in a society that treats them like a second-class citizen?

I would love to know what you think. If you have a response to the following questions please leave them in the comments below.

By:  Kaycia Sailsman


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Comments

  1. Tanay says:

    I’ll start with this, “black women do not have similar support when it comes to supporting a cause they think is unjust”. The reasoning behind it is simple: people have to understand the issue to advocate. It’s the same when black men go to jail or are killed and white people (not all, but get my point, here) say “just comply.” It’s easy to disregard or be condescending to a person’s issues when you’ve always had the upper hand and until that dynamic switches, there will always be a disconnect. With black women, any complaint just fuels the “black women are angry” argument because of the lack of knowledge as to WHY we’re angry (btw, these complaints will never end because they never get addressed and/or resolved). They see her argument as not being appreciative because “at least she got an offer”, but being appreciative and knowing what you deserve are not interchangeable ideas.

  2. Kaycia Sailsman says:

    I agree with your comment Tanay. I hope you got that same notion from what I have written. :)

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