Lee Daniels, director of The Butler and executive producer of the smash FoxTV hit Empire,? recently defended himself against accusations that he got actress/comedienne Mo?Nique blackballed from Hollywood after her Oscar win.

[READ: Mo’Nique Claims Lee Daniels Confirmed Her Suspicions of Being Blackballed]

Daniels recently appeared spoke to CNN’s Don Lemon about the controversy surrounding Mo’Nique’s claims and explains how he simply asked Mo?Nique to play Hollywood politics during awards season, and she famously refused.

[READ: Sheryl Lee Ralph On Mo’Nique’s Claims of Being Blackballed: “Sometimes you just need to SHUT UP…” (VIDEO)]

While Daniels praised Mo?Nique?s talents ? ?she?s brilliant, and I like working with brilliant people? ? Daniels said that the outspoken actress made numerous ?demands? during the awards campaign for Precious that damaged her own reputation.

Daniels also explains to Lemon how ‘reverse racism’ and Mo’Nique’s failure to thank crucial people during her Oscar speech sealed her fate. He also expressed that if his willingness to ‘play the game’ makes him a ‘sell-out’ then he’ll be selling out all the theaters (and going straight to the bank)!

But wait… there’s more! Mo’Nique also did the rounds responding to Lee’s claims and even revealed that he offered her the role of Cookie in Empire (*sigh).

Watch the full interview + Mo’Nique’s response below… Continue Reading…