Comedian and Oscar award winner Mo’Nique filed a lawsuit Wednesday against CBS, Paramount and Big Ticket Productions over unpaid royalties from her hit tv show “The Parkers.”
The Associated Press obtained the court documents alleging that the networks and Big Ticket artificially depressed the series’ profitability to “retain millions that would otherwise be contractually due” to Mo’Nique’s production company.
In the filing, the actress says she’s owed millions of dollars for money made by the sitcom during its time on television and its newfound success on Netflix.
“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,” the suit says.
The suit, filed by Hicks Media, the production company Mo’Nique owns with her husband and business partner, Sidney Hicks, also alleges the defendants “have refused to compensate her fully and properly for the monies wrongfully withheld from it, thereby necessitating this action to vindicate her contractual rights.”
She’s asking a judge to determine monetary damages at trial.
“The Parkers,” a spinoff of the popular sitcom “Moesha,” aired for five seasons and 110 episodes on UPN from 1999 to 2004, with reruns airing across several television networks. The series began streaming on Netflix in October 2020.
