Oprah had Gerald Imes, the brother of Mo’Nique, and other family members on her show April 19, 2010. Gerald admitted to Oprah that he molested Mo’Nique when she was just a child.

According to the examiner.com, he begun to speak about how he touched her while she was sleeping. He later apologized to Mo’nique on the show for the damage he caused her in her life. Even though Mo’Nique gave Oprah her blessing to have the interview, she was quite pissed at Oprah because of the way the interview was handled and the things her brother was allowed to say.

I was shocked when I heard  this. I don’t think an interview should be given to the person who did the damage. I didn’t feel it was appropriate to hear something like this without Mo’Nique around. Plus, it didn’t seem as sympathetic to Mo’Nique’s feeling as much as it should have.  She later claimed that he lied about a few things that were discussed. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if this cost even more problems with her family.

Mo’Nique was offered the chance to go on Oprah for her interview but she declined. I would have declined also. I wouldn’t want anything else out in public. It would just mean that the public would have to choose which story is completely true. One of the fears of being harassed in any way is the fear of people not believing you.

Do you think this interview was necessary or not?

I can’t remember the last time I watched the Oscars in its entirety; I usually fizzle out in the middle and catch the best picture award just in time.

This year I made it my mission to watch the whole thing, and these were my fave.

1. Samuel L. Jackson. Hands down. When Mo’Nique won the Best Supporting Actress statue for Precious, he gave the side eye. I don’t have any clue what that was about (was she supposed to thank him or something?), but thanks to @amandadiva who captured this pic and put it on Twitter, I was tickled for quite a while.

2. Which brings me to Mo’Nique. Even though I’m not a fan of hers, I can’t (and won’t) deny a great performance. Her win for Best Supporting Actress was much deserved, and it was about time the Academy got it right, like they should have for Denzel Washington in Malcolm X or Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne in What’s Love Got to Do with It.

3. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. I thought they were surprisingly funny. Alec Baldwin is always funny to me anyway, but I thought they did a great job as hosts. And I loved Steve’s Ugly Betty glasses. And when they showed them in the red snuggies? Hilarious.

4. Kathryn Bigelow winning Best Director for The Hurt Locker. It was the first time a woman ever took home the statue, and the great part about it was that she was nominated against her ex, James Cameron who was also nominated for the biggest grossing movie of all time, Avatar. Not only did she win, she got a better seat than him too. I love it! Her film also won for Best Picture. I always love when women make history.

5. Sandra Bullock winning Best Actress for The Blindside. In theory, it would have been nice if Gabby Sidibe won for Precious, but just to be nominated for her first movie was great as well. Sandra has been one of my favorite actresses since I was 10 and saw her in The Net, which wasn’t the greatest film but I loved it anyway. She’s come a long way since While You Were Sleeping. Her acceptance speech was also funny and touching.

Everybody wants to be the next Oprah. I do. You do. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be her? She’s the richest woman in the world; the queen of all media. When Oprah talks, people listen.

Now that Mo’Nique has her own talk show, The Mo’Nique Show, she believes that she can just compare herself to the Big O.

I’m not a big fan of Mo’Nique.  I don’t think she’s that funny (and I’ve seen her twice). And to see that she has her own talk show five nights a week is aggravating. But when I read that she said she wanted to be like her on Black Voices , I was having one of those moments where I wanted to take my invisible hook out and drag her off the stage Night at the Apollo style.

“When I saw Ms. Oprah Winfrey on People Are Talking [Winfrey's daily talk show in Baltimore from 1978 to 1983] and we took a school trip there when I was in broadcasting school, I said, ‘She looks like me: she’s fat, she’s black, she’s got big feet. She’s doing it? Okay, I believe I want to do that too!’”

Sigh.

I get she was trying to be funny, but let’s be serious. That’s like me saying that because I see the Kool-Aid Man in a commercial quenching people’s thirst around the world and red is my favorite color, I want to be the Kool-Aid Man. It’s extreme and dumb, but so is Mo’Nique saying she wanted to be Oprah because she’s fat and black. There are a few reasons why I believe that she will never be the next O, and here’s why:

1. She’s too damn loud. Mo has her own talk show on BET,  and all she does is scream. I couldn’t sit through a whole episode because she is so loud. (See picture above.) If I am watching a commercial for the show, and I have to turn my the volume down — that’s a problem. And being in the biz for so long, she should understand that when you’re wearing a microphone pack, it increases your volume. Oprah gets loud from time to time when she has Will Smith on her show or for her My Favorite Things episode, but she always brings it back.
2. She’s not gracious.As I’m sure most of you know, Mo’Nique has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz from her role in the upcoming movie Precious (an Oprah produced film, at that). According to Showbiz411.com , until just a few days ago, the actress hasn’t been doing any press for the role because her demand for $100,000 for an appearance fee wasn’t getting met. (That fee didn’t even include first class air fare for her glam squad or hair costs.) Mo’Nique said, ”When people say, ‘You care more about money than winning an Oscar,’ well what does an Oscar mean? An Oscar means more work when you win it, and that means more money! I couldn’t eat that Oscar. Everybody needs money, baby. That’s how we survive, right?’”I’m not sure if she knows how Hollywood works, but black Hollywood is a lot different from their Hollywood. It’s not smart to ruffle any feathers. If you have to take a pay cut now when the reward later might be greater, just do it. I’m sure when Oprah was nominated for best supporting actress in The Color Purpleback in the day she did what she had to do. But if Mo’Nique is fine with Soul Plane at the top of her resume…
3. She’s narrow-minded. I swear, her talk show should be called Mo’Nique and Friendsbecause that’s all we see. Her guests are people we see her with all of the time. Steve Harvey, Sheryl Underwood, Sommore… I mean, come on, let’s broaden those topics. Tell me something new, something fresh. Get me to care. Even Tyra takes a pause to stop talking about herself once in a while. Oprah talks about everything under the sun from domestic abuse to literature to health. I’m sure once Mo’Nique gets new topics other than how it was for her on the Queens of Comedy Tour back in 2001, her audience will grow.
4. She doesn’t seem to give back. I’m not saying that she doesn’t give back, but let’s just say I put Mo’Nique and charity in Google, and I came up with no results. That’s all the evidence I need. We all know that Oprah has her Angel Network where she donates money for education, rebuilding and creating communities, and basic rights. When you do something good, you feel good, and you let everybody know. Not in a condescending way but in an inspiring way. If Mo’Nique gives back, she needs to shout it from the rooftop. I mean, she shouts everything else.

 I honestly and truly wish Mo’Nique luck because I don’t want to dislike her, but she gives me so many reasons to do so. But she needs to know, no matter how much she tries, she will never, ever be the next Oprah Winfrey.