Mo’Nique Remembers Lee Daniels Feud, Calls Him a ‘Friend’ After Reconciling

Lee Daniels and Mo’Nique's friendship was mended by way of the director’s new horror film, The Deliverance.

The pair didn’t speak for years due to a feud over 2009’s Precious because Mo’Nique refused to promote the movie. Now, things are much different.

“He’s my friend,” Mo’Nique told Variety about Daniels at the Los Angeles premiere of The Deliverance.

“You ever have somebody in your life where your chemistry is right there but something happened and it pulls you apart, but you don’t forget the heart of the person?” she added. “You don’t forget the purity of this person and you say, ‘I’m willing to fight for this friendship.’”

Back in 2009, following the pair’s dispute over Precious, Daniels told Mo’Nique that she would be “blackballed” from the entertainment industry. Years later, in 2022, Daniels publicly apologized to Mo’Nique onstage.

"Wasn’t that God working?" he said earlier this month, regarding Mo’Nique’s appearance in The Deliverance. "First of all, part of me trying to find my higher power was also understanding what that meant. And that meant forgiveness, that meant apologizing, even if I didn’t understand what I was apologizing for. I had to understand that she was hurt, and that is my sister, and that I love her."

Inspired by true events, The Deliverance follows the story of Ebony (Andra Day), who’s raising her three children on her own when her recovering addict mother, Alberta (Glenn Close) moves in to help care for the kids. While Ebony has to deal with visits from a social worker (Mo’Nique), a demon possesses the kids. A pastor (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) attempts to help dispel the evil spirit.

The Deliverance is currently in theaters and will be available on Netflix on Aug. 30.