Acclaimed Actress Addresses Recent Hollywood Controversy, Talks Wage Inequality and Reveals Next Creative Steps in News One Now First-Ever Primetime Special
Silver Spring, MD (March 19, 2015) – TV One today announced that News One Now – the first morning news program in history to focus on news and analysis of politics, entertainment, sports, and culture from an explicitly African American perspective – will air its first-ever primetime special with the Oscar® winning actress Mo’Nique on Sunday, March 22nd at 10PM/EDT. Recently recorded in Atlanta, Host and Managing Editor Roland Martin sat down for a one-on-one interview to discuss the recent controversy surrounding reports that Mo’Nique experienced backlash following her groundbreaking role in Precious. Mo’Nique also opened up about wage inequality in Hollywood, her current approach to sustaining a career in the entertainment industry and her role in the upcoming independent film Blackbird. “NewsOneNow has featured some of today’s top Blacks in Hollywood, whether its Eddie Murphy, Tyler Perry, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington or directors Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay and Gina Prince-Bythewood. But we don’t just focus on their latest project; we also offer them a platform to speak about the business of Hollywood, and the political issues and challenges they face as African Americans,” said Martin. “We are pleased to extend and deepen the discussion in our first primetime special with the multi-talented and award-winning Mo’Nique, who offered our audience never-before-revealed information, as well as her focus on charting her own path to success in the entertainment industry.”
Excerpts from the interview below:
On wage inequality in Hollywood:
“When you hear our sisters Patricia Arquette and Gwyneth Paltrow, who our are White sisters in this business, and they’re saying we want wage equality, we want to be treated equal, well if they’re saying it, what do you think we’re (actresses of color) getting?”
On reputation of being demanding:
“When I watch Mr. Daniels make statements like I was demanding, and I was difficult, Mr. Daniels knows that is not true because he and I have never had an issue at all. If I were that person, why ever would you offer me the role of ‘Gloria’ in The Butler, why ever would you offer me the role of ‘Cookie’ in Empire?”
On the personal toll endured by pursing fame:
“This is my third marriage. (With) the first two marriages, I was chasing (fame) and really didn’t understand what it is to be a wife… Now that my son is 25, we have a very strained relationship because during that time when he was a little boy I was out chasing, so my prayer was ‘please give me another chance’.”
About NewsOne Now
Emanating from the heart of Washington D.C. in a state-of-the-art studio that offers a stunning view of the Capitol building, NewsOne Now airs Monday through Friday from 7-10 a.m. ET on Radio One network stations in select U.S. markets, and is simulcast on TV One from 9-10 a.m. NewsOne Now is hosted by Roland S. Martin, the 2013 National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year and former host of TV One’s long-running, award-winning weekly news program, Washington Watch with Roland Martin. Each morning, Martin – who also serves as the program’s managing editor – sifts through the headlines of the day to spotlight matters that greatly impact the African American community. Beyond radio and television, NewsOne Now reaches audiences 24/7 with exclusive program content and extended editorial on NewsOne.com and the NewsOne mobile app. News One Now is an evolution of Interactive One’s award-winning digital brand NewsOne.com that launched in 2008 and reaches millions of African Americans each month.
About TV One
Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets Black and urban listeners; and Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK; www.comcast.com], one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information, and communications products and services.
About Roland S. Martin
Noted among TV Week’s “Top 12 To Watch In TV News,” Roland S. Martin is a nationally syndicated, award-winning journalist and columnist. Currently, Martin is the chief political editor and face of the revolutionary daily news program News One Now for TV One Network. News One Now is an innovative multi-platform media source, delivering up-to-the-minute topical, political, entertainment, sports and pop culture information and analysis via radio, TV and social media, through NewsOne.com, a website from Radio One’s web division, Interactive One.
Martin is a columnist with Creators Syndicate, and senior analyst for the Tom Joyner Morning Show, where his daily segment is heard on more than 100 stations and 8 million people daily. Capturing a cameo in this year’s best love story, Roland Martin guest stars in Beyond the Lights, starring Nate Parker, Minnie Driver and Gugu Mgatha-Raw. Playing himself, Martin shares some savvy media strategy with the main character.
Honored by Ebony Magazine for the past five years, Roland Martin again makes the 2015 Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 list that highlights the movers, shakers and ignitors in Black America.
Connect with Martin on Social Media:
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