Director Lee Daniels and actress Mo’Nique have buried the hatchet after years of feuding following their 2009 critically-acclaimed film, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”
“I am so sorry for hurting you in any way that I did,” Daniels said to the comedian on-stage during her “Mo’Nique and Friends: April Fools Day with The Queen of Comedy” event at St. George Theatre in Staten Island Friday night.
As the stand-up appeared to become emotional within the footage, Daniels continued, “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.”
He then added, “And we’re gonna f–king do it again!” in reference to their upcoming project, “Demon House,” an exorcism film directed by Lee for Netflix, in which Mo’Nique will replace Octavia Spencer, who had to drop out of the film due to a scheduling conflict, Dateline reports.
Daniels and Mo’Nique were “best friends” before falling out over ten years ago. WireImage
Co-stars include Andra Day, Glenn Close and Aunjanue Ellis.
The pair concluded the sweet moment by exchanging “I love you” and hugging for the crowd, with the “Almost Christmas” star commemorating the moment with a snap on Instagram.
Mo’Nique — who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Daniels’ “Precious,” previously slammed the director, along with Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, for allegedly blackballing her from Hollywood after she reportedly refused to campaign for “Precious” during awards season without additional pay.
Daniels directed “Precious” starring (L-R) Mo’Nique, Gabourey Sidibe, and Paula Patton. Frederick M. Brown
“I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago, 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,’” the comic told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015.
Mo’Nique finally received the apology she was looking for from “Precious” director, Lee Daniels.Getty Images
Daniels took issue with the accusation in 2018 when he claimed, “I respect her [as an] actor because she gave me her soul, but I gave her my soul. And for that she was given the Golden Globe and the Academy Award … and it breaks my heart that she feels that we blackballed her. No one blackballed her. Mo’Nique blackballed her. And for her to continue to speak about Oprah and myself and Tyler is disrespectful.”