Oprah Winfrey is facing backlash over a resurfaced clip of her interviewing Mo’Nique’s brother days after she won her first Academy Award.
In the resurfaced clip, Winfrey sat down with Gerald Imes, Mo’Nique’s older brother who sexually assaulted her as a child, for an interview in 2010. Imes admitted during the interview that he began sexually abusing Mo’Nique when he was 13 and said he was molested as a child.
The clip resurfaced after Mo’Nique’s recent appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast. During the podcast, the comedian explained the reason behind her issues with Winfrey, Tyler Perry, D.L. Hughley, Tiffany Haddish, and more.
Mo’Nique noted that Winfrey informed her that she was interviewing her brother ahead of time. The comedian recalled being appreciative of the heads up, and she told Winfrey that she “wanted no part of it.”
However, Mo’Nique said she was blindsided after she saw more of her family members being featured in promos for the episode with her brother.
“I start seeing commercials with my mother and my father and my other brother who used to be my manager who knew the fear I had with the brother onstage, right? We never talked about my mother being there,” Mo’Nique told Sharpe on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast this week.
Mo’Nique’s parents and brother, Stephen, also appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2010, discussing how “heartbreaking” Gerald’s actions were.
When asked if she felt betrayed by Winfrey, Mo’Nique said: “That is exactly who I felt and how I feel.”
“I understand it,” she added, “But you betrayed me sis.”
The Oscar winner said she tried to reach out to Winfrey about the situation, but efforts to communicate “went dead.” Mo’Nique said she confronted the talk show host three years after the interview at a celebration party for Lupita Nyong’o’s Academy Award nomination.
“Oprah Winfrey was sitting on my right. And then I turned to her and said, ‘Now I need to talk to you.’ There were some phenomenal Black women there. You could hear a pin drop,” Mo’Nique recalled. “I said, ‘Since you didn’t want to return my calls, for whatever reason, I’m going to say this right here.’”
When asked why she invited Mo’Nique’s parents on the show, Winfrey allegedly said she didn’t know other family members were showing up.
“I didn’t know anything about that.” Winfrey allegedly told Mo’Nique. “If I had done anything to offend you, I apologize.”
Several social media users called out Winfrey for interviewing the comedian’s abusive brother days after she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Precious.
See their reactions below.
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