Tyler Perry Shocks Fans With Mo'Nique Lookalike In New Film, A Likely Dig At Nemesis
Tyler Perry has been accused of casting a lookalike of Mo'Nique in his new film in what some fans suspect to be a dig at his longtime nemesis.
In Perry's "Divorce In the Black," which premiered Thursday, actress Ursula O. Robinson plays Linda, the mother of Cory Hardrict's character Dallas.
The movie's memorable opening scene featured Linda ordering her children to take their brother's dead body out of his casket and bring it to their car after she was offended by Pastor Clarence's (Richard Lawson) comments about their family during a funeral.
While the scene itself was shocking, some viewers were also left stunned by Robinson's resemblance to Mo'Nique and took to Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts.
I'm not even ten minutes into the film, but Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black has one the craziest openings I have seen in one of his movies.#DivorceInTheBlack pic.twitter.com/P3jRQsRwxc
— Christopher Whitehead Jr. (@ChrisW102093) July 11, 2024
"Watching 'Divorce In the Black.' Clearly they wanted [Mo'Nique] for the role of old boy's mama," one X user claimed. "They went and found a doppelgänger."
"Why [did] the lady at the church scene in @tylerperry 'Divorce in the Black' look like [Mo'Nique]...? Is it just me?" read another comment.
"Tyler Perry could've [given] Monique that role of the Mom in that movie lol," a third user commented.
One Instagram user said they believe Mo'Nique "would've killed this character" had she been given the role of Linda.
Some social media users speculated that Perry was making a "petty" jab at Mo'Nique, with whom he's been beefing for more than a decade.
"Something about this movie and character screams [Mo'Nique] to me as shade from Tyler Perry," one viewer commented.
"Tyler Perry thinks he's slick! Got a [Mo'Nique] lookalike to give [Mo'Nique] vibes without actually paying for [Mo'Nique]. Just shady especially given the animosity between them," another social media user wrote.
Another comment claimed, "Getting fake Monique is diabolical. Billionaire petty different. #DivorceInTheBlack."
Some fans also pointed out the similarities between Robinson's character Linda and Mo'Nique's role as Mary in the 2009 Tyler Perry-produced film, "Precious."
"She was giving major [Mo'Nique] 'Precious' vibes!" one person declared.
"Reminded me of Monique's character in 'Precious,'" another shared.
Mo'Nique and Perry's feud began during the 2009 press tour for their film, "Precious." At the time, she agreed to appear in promotional interviews and talk shows but refused to do any unpaid, international promo that was not included in her contract.
During an interview on "Club Shay Shay" earlier this year, the comedienne-actress alleged that Perry and Oprah Winfrey later got her "blackballed" in Hollywood over it.
Mo'Nique also claimed that Perry admitted to starting a rumor that she was difficult to work with and caused her to lose millions of dollars' worth of opportunities.
During a stand-up comedy set in May, Mo'Nique launched a tirade against Perry and Winfrey, calling them "coon motherf*****s" and other insults.
Perry has repeatedly denied Mo'Nique's blackballing accusations.
