This time, the joke was on Mo’Nique. Amid backlash from fans, the 49-year-old comedian and actor retracted her earlier remarks about the perceived similarities between her interactions with Kevin Hart and Chelsea Handler. On Monday, Mo’Nique shared a video of Handler from Kevin Hart’s recent comedy show, where he was honored with the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Mo’Nique initially believed Handler’s remarks were genuine, but Handler was actually making fun of her. Fans quickly pointed out the misunderstanding after Mo’Nique gloated about it on Instagram.
In the video, Handler recounts a moment when Kevin promised to feature her in a film. In her joke, Kevin said, “I got you,” when she expressed she didn’t mind being in front of or behind the camera. She claimed she was surprised, though, when the 44-year-old comedian never returned her call. The misunderstanding was quite embarrassing for Mo’Nique. It’s perplexing how she thought Handler would be serious while presenting Kevin Hart with a prestigious award. Handler said, “Here’s how great Kevin is. He said, ‘No problem, Chelsea, I got you! I’ll just get you a gig on my movie.’ I said, ‘Great! Behind the camera…in front…I don’t care. I’ll direct it if I have to.’ He said he’d even help me fill out the paperwork.” Handler continued, “I was so excited. He said, ‘I got you, Chelsea. I got you! I got you!’ And that’s when I learned that if you ask Kevin for a favor, you can always count on hearing these three words: I got you. And then you can count on never hearing from him again.”
Mo’Nique posted the video along with snippets from her Club Shay Shay interview on Instagram. Her victory lap about Kevin Hart was short-lived, though. Someone on social media soon informed Mo’Nique in the post’s comment section that Handler was genuinely making fun of her participation on the podcast. After numerous comments pointing out that Mo’Nique was the butt of the joke, she finally responded, “It had come to my attention that the joke is on me!! LOL!!!”
Overall, the Mo’Nique and Kevin Hart beef seems pretty one-sided and looks unlikely to end anytime soon.