Lee Daniels, 62, and Mo’Nique, 54, are ending their feud after 13 years. The director, who directed the actress’ 2009 film Precious, made an appearance on stage at her Mo’Nique and Friends: April Fools Day with The Queen of Comedy event at St. George Theatre on Staten Island on April 1, and made a public apology after she previously claimed he told her she’d been “blackballed” in the industry when she expected a pay increase due to winning an Oscar.
Lee Daniels apologizes to Mo’Nique after not speaking for 13 years over ‘Precious’ dispute. pic.twitter.com/3pnIepmIYF
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 2, 2022
“I am so sorry for hurting you in any way that I did,” Lee told Mo’Nique in front of the crowd before she put her hand to her heart and appeared to get emotional. “Y’all, and she was my best friend — my best friend. Y’all think that Precious was just … That was God working, through both of us.”
“And we’re gonna f*cking do it again!” he added before concluding with “I love you” as the two of them then briefly danced on the stage together.
In addition to the public apology, Deadline reported that Mo’Nique will star in Lee’s upcoming flick, Demon House for Netflix, along with other talented stars like Andra Day, Glenn Close and Aunjanue Ellis.
Lee and Mo’Nique’s reconciliation comes as a surprise since they were reportedly involved in feud that was caused by the latter talking to the former about not getting the pay increase she expected after winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary Lee Johnston in Lee’s film, Precious.
“I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago,” Mo’Nique told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “And he said to me, ‘Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed.’ And I said, ‘I’ve been blackballed? Why have I been blackballed?’ And he said, ‘Because you didn’t play the game.’ And I said, ‘Well, what game is that?’ And he gave me no response.”
Lee also gave a statement to the outlet. “Her demands through Precious were not always in line with the campaign. This soured her relationship with the Hollywood community,” it read. Despite his opinion, he also said he still considered Mo’Nique as a friend.
A month later, Mo’Nique told Good Morning America that Lee “had a problem that I didn’t say his name the night of the Oscar awards”and in 2018, Lee told TMZ, “It breaks my heart that she feels that we blackballed her. No one blackballed her. Mo’Nique blackballed her.”