Is Lee Daniels a sellout? Several weeks ago, Mo’Nique told The Hollywood Reporter that she was being blackballed by the Hollywood establishment since her 2010 Oscar win for the movie Precious–allegedly for being “tacky and tactless.” It was Daniels (creator of Empire, director of Precious and The Butler) who had given Mo’Nique the lowdown about the movie industry’s unwillingness to brook any attitude from a black diva whose stature within the industry is relatively small. Daniels and Mo’Nique continue to be friends. Daniels says he “has and will always consider her for parts,” but that Hollywood bigwigs always decide to “go another way with these roles.”
In an interview with CNN’s gaffe-meister Don Lemon, Daniels says: “This is not just show. It’s show business… And you’ve gotta play ball, and you can’t scream—I don’t like calling the race card. I don’t believe in it. If I buy into it, it becomes real. If I knew what I knew when I was 21, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.” Lemon told Daniels that sounded like the definition of a sellout. Daniels declared: “Well, I guess I’m a sellout…But I’m not going to not work, and I’m not going to not tell my truth. And I’m not going to call people out on their bull. So whatever that means, sell out. I’ll see you in the theaters.”
