Last week, comedienne and award-winning actress Mo’Nique announced her suit against Paramount Pictures and CBS TV Studios, due to alleged monies owed over hit sitcom The Parkers. Her co-star Countess Vaughn showed support for the her, and now, the Precious actress has returned the sentiments.
“@countessdvaughn it was an honor to work with you for 5 years and it’s an honor to STAND WITH YOU TO GET WHAT WE ARE OWED FROM THE LAST 24 YEARS,” expressed Mo’Nique, who played Nikki Parker, the mother of Vaughn’s character, Kim.
“In this industry the goal is to hit 100 episodes so you can go into syndication, our show did 110 episodes. WE ARE THE PARKERS. I LOVE US 4REAL,” she added.
Vaughn followed up with her own post captioned, “Gotta get our money.”
On April 13, Mo’Nique wrote on Instagram, “Today we filed a lawsuit to make sure that we are fairly paid [the] money that we are owed for The Parkers. Actors rely on the good faith of Hollywood companies to honor their profit participation agreements. The Parkers was a huge success and continues to be a source of revenue through syndication and streaming channels.”
“To further make my point, the Executive Producers of ‘The Parkers’ took legal action for the same concerns that I have, and they’ve already settled,” the 55-year-old added.
“Unfortunately, all too often, talent gets kept in the dark. We’re looking forward to shedding some light on the subject! I LOVE US 4REAL!!”
According to AP, the suit details an alleged breach-of-contract by defendants CBS Studios and Paramount Pictures, in which the platforms undermined the 1999 show’s profitability to “retain millions that would otherwise be contractually due” to Mo’Nique’s production company Hicks Media.
“While the series has proven to be a major financial success for its producers and distributors, the series’ talent have not been permitted to share in the fruits of that success,” the lawsuit reportedly states.
Mo’Nique recently appeared in her first Netflix special My Name Is Mo’Nique and starred on the latest season of 50 Cent’s hit Starz series BMF. As for Vaughn, she was recruited to guest star in season two of the Amazon Prime original show Harlem. A premiere date has not been announced yet.