Cousins! Mo’Nique has taken legal action against the production companies of both Paramount and CBS upon claims of owed royalties from the legendary sitcom ‘The Parker’s’
According to AP News; the suit was issued by Hicks Media, a production company owned by Mo’Nique and her husband Sidney Hicks. Court documents show that the suit has been filed under ‘ breach of contract’ within Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.
The forwarded motion claims that the producers and distributors of the series have made and are still making major bank off the sitcom—while the starring actors have been left in the dark.
“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,” reads the suit.
CBS Studios, Paramount Pictures and the show’s production company Big Ticket Productions have been listed as defendants. The suit is seeking monetary damages to be discussed and determined during trial.
As we all know Mo’Nique isn’t one to play with her coins and has no issue in standing up for herself against any injustice. Back in 2020 she sued the streaming service of Netflix for race and sex discrimination.
The suit declared that their offer for a proposed comedy special, was a lowball offer that was a strategy of the company to underpay Black women.
The suit was settled last year in 2022.
Mo’Nique took to social media as well to respond to reports of her recently filed suit, “ Today we filed a lawsuit to make sure that we are fairly paid money that we are owed for “The Parkers”. Actors rely on the good faith of Hollywood companies to honor their profit participation agreements.”
She continues, “The Parkers was a huge success and continues to be a source of revenue through syndication and streaming channels. To further make my point, the Executive Producers of “The Parkers” took legal action for the same concerns that I have, and they’ve already settled. Unfortunately, all too often, talent gets kept in the dark. We’re looking forward to shedding some light on the subject!”
“The Parkers,” serves as direct spinoff of the fan favorite sitcom “Moesha,” . The sitcom ran for five seasons within a produced 110 episodes on the legendary network UPN from 1999 to 2004. Mo’Nique landed the role of Nikki Parker, a devoted mother that enrolled in the same junior college as her teenage daughter.
As per AP News; The Parker” has been rerun in syndication in various forms since, and has been available for streaming on Netflix since 2020.