American stand-up comedian and award-winning actress Monique Angela Hicks, known professionally as Mo'Nique and renowned for her role as Nikki Parker Oglevee on the iconic sitcom “The Parkers,” has returned to Netflix with her new comedy stand-up special, “My Name Is Mo’Nique,” which premiered on Tuesday worldwide.
Her return follows her public legal battle with the streaming platform in 2019 where the actress and comedian sued Netflix for racial and gender bias against her after she was paid only $500,000 for her comedy special. Fellow comedians who included Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, and Amy Schumer on the hand, each received multimillion-dollar deals.
The lawsuit was settled outside of court in 2022, however she has not disclosed the amount that was settled upon, although she did comment, “I think when adults come together in the room and sit down and have a reasonable conversation and a logical conversation, you work things out.”
Her courageous decision to stand up for what she believed in, not only paid off in the end but is also a barrier broken for the next generation of black, female comedians and actresses coming after her.
