Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn say it’s time for CBS to pay them “fairly” for the work they did on their early 2000s sitcom, The Parkers.
The two stars, who played mother and daughter respectively, both released video statements this week amid the ongoing Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
On Tuesday (Sept. 19), Mo’Nique and her husband Sidney Hicks posted a video on Instagram voicing similar complaints to the actors and writers walking the picket line — with the couple alleging Mo’Nique is being short-changed when it comes to profits from The Parkers.
“We’re coming to y’all today to let you know we’re standing with all the unions that are striking right now,” Mo’Nique said in the video. “And we have a story that we must share of our own with the community.”
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The actress and comedian’s comments came five months after she sued CBS and Paramount alleging breach of contract over her share of revenue from The Parkers. Filed in April, the suit names CBS Studios, Paramount Pictures and production company Big Ticket Productions as defendants in the case.
In her video statement, Mo’Nique noted that the series — which originally ran on UPN from 1999 to 2004 — has continued to air for 24 years. Hicks said the show has made more than $700 million dollars.
“It’s baffling being that when you have a conversation with the executive producers and they allude to the fact that the show in its entirety — five years — was made for under $70 million dollars. It went out of production in 2004, but by 2009, we see profit participation statements that show the program made over $700 million dollars, but yet was in a close to a billion, if not a billion dollar deficit,” he explained.
Mo’Nique then brought up Dave Chappelle’s years-long dispute with CBS sister network Comedy Central over licensing fees for Chappelle’s Show. In 2021, Chappelle announced ViacomCBS, parent company of Comedy Central, had settled their financial dispute and made the “past right.”
Mo’Nique urged CBS to make things right with the stars of The Parkers as well.
“What we’re asking you CBS, is can you please treat these two Black women fairly?” she said. “Don’t pay us any more, but don’t pay us any less.”
Countess Vaughn also released a video statement on Tuesday and called out CBS.
“You know people always trip me out when saying something like, ‘You’re lying. It’s not true.’ Yes, give us our money,” she said in the video.
“You would be mad if you worked all week and when it’s time to get you your check, they go, ‘Oh, the last other checks that should cover it. We paid you already.’ No, but did you get me for my services now? Today? All the days that you have played our episodes. Pay that. It’s not fair,” the actress added.
Neither CBS nor Paramount has publicly addressed their complaints.
Profit sharing or residuals is one of the key issues in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Writers and actors are calling for a bigger share of profits when TV shows and movies re-air, particularly on streaming platforms.
Related Story: Drew Barrymore Reverses Decision to Bring Talk Show Back During Strikes: ‘I Have Listened’
The writers strike began on May 2. While actors started walking picket lines in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and other cities on July 14.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher slammed “greedy” studio executives in a fiery speech right after the union called the strike.
“We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity,” Drescher said.
The studios and streamers have said they offered a contract with “historic pay and residual increases,” but SAG-AFTRA rejected the agreement.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios and streamers in the contract talks, said the WGA also turned down its contract offer.
The WGA and the AMPTP returned to the bargaining table on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
The two sides released a rare joint statement saying the talks were “encouraging” and they would meet again on Thursday.
You deserve exactly what the contract you signed says you deserve, no more, no less.
You beat me to that answer. No one made them sign a contract or could predict what the production would make over the years. Apparently they both need better agents.
All the cast of Big Bang get millions in residuals. Why not everyone else? If your show is successful in syndication the checks should roll in.
Simple. Better agents and more intelligent actors/actresses.
What she’s apparently wanting, is to re-negotiate her contract 2 decades after the fact. The cast of the “Big Bang” apparently had better agents.
Greed is in the eye of the beholder
Not sure why she felt the need to bring race into this?
When does a black person not bring in race? They are programmed at birth to throw the race card around like monopoly money whenever anything in life doesn’t go their way, even when the screwups are all theirs to own. Wish i had that kind of “get out of life” free card to throw around when i screwed up….
Agree with what teddysalad said
“We wish we’d negotiated a better contract.”
Womp womp!
Mo who?????
What the US is witnessing is the downfall and thus, a complete transformation of the American entertainment industry. It won’t be long before the industry either collapses entirely or gets reduced to two or three major players and nothing more. The business has been ruined.. particularly over the past 5 or so years. The product is truly awful, and the writers and performers care NOTHING about the audience (their customers). So let us tip our hat to an industry that not very long ago was thriving and creating what the people actually wanted. Bye bye movies and TV, you had a nice run.
When such an unlikeable woman as monique demands something, race relations take a big step backwards. no idea who the other loudmouth is. i’m sure she is very important.
What’s with the race hustling? They have a contract. Either they have been paid according to that contract or they haven’t. No y’all, references to their race or appeals to “community” changes that. The public, most of whom don’t share these actresses privilege, certainly has no idea whether they’ve been treated fairly. So enough cry bullying already. Let the courts decide.
It’s always about race, blacks don’t bring anything else to the discussion table but race. Or maybe if they stopped crowing about race every 2 seconds, their other values as a people would be recognized…but until then no one is listening anyway.
NO
You agreed to the terms 20 years ago……that’s on you. In hindsight I disagree with the pay I got years ago, but if I went to the courts, I’d get told to sit down and shut up – nothing I can about it now. And I sure hope that if this goes to the courts, they tell you to sit down and STFU. If anyone, you should be complaining to the agent you had back then, because THEY are the one that convinced you it was a good deal, not to mention you should go look in a mirror and complain to yourself, that YOU…..yes YOU, agreed to what you deem sh*t terms now……hindsight won’t help you
Sorry hun but when you’re washed up no one wants what you’re selling. Dave Chappelle has a product that people want and so has something call “leverage”. I’m moderately successful but do you see me comparing myself to Warren Buffett and demanding everyone PAY UP!? GTFOH