Mo’Nique sued CBS and Paramount Wednesday in an effort to seek unpaid royalties from her “Moesha” spinoff, “The Parkers.”
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by Pvnew alleges the defendants “artificially depressed” the show’s profits to “retain millions that would otherwise be contractually due” to the actress and writers.
“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 documents state.
The suit was filed by Hicks Media, the production company that Mo’Nique owns with her business partner and husband, Sidney Hicks.
nal photo with the cast, including Mo'Nique" >She is seeking monetary damages to be determined at a future trial.
Reps for CBS Studios, Paramount Pictures and Big Ticket Productions did not immediately return Pvnew’s requests for comment.
“The Parkers” aired for five seasons from August 1999 to May 2004 on UPN. Netflix added the series to its streaming service in October 2020.
Mo’Nique, 55, previously sued Netflix for discrimination in 2019.
She claimed the streaming giant had offered her a “biased, discriminatory” deal of $500,000 for a comedy special, while her male and white female peers received multimillion-dollar checks for similar content.
“Netflix reportedly offered or paid [Chris] Rock, [Dave] Chappelle, [Ellen] DeGeneres and [Ricky] Gervais forty (40) times more per show than it offered Mo’Nique, and it offered [Amy] Schumer twenty-six (26) times more per show than Mo’Nique,” the lawsuit alleged.
“In short, Netflix’s offer to Mo’Nique perpetuates the drastic wage gap forced upon Black women in America’s workforce.”
Netflix responded that it intended to fight the lawsuit because the company felt its opening financial offer was “fair.”
about two and a half years after Mo’Nique filed the suit, Netflix settled with her for undisclosed terms.
