Mo'Nique: 'Film ended anger at abuse'

Mo'Nique has revealed that working on Precious helped her to deal with the abuse she suffered as a child.

The actress has previously said that she was sexually molested by her brother Gerald but has now told The Times that she no longer feels any resentment towards him.

"I was seven, he was six years older," she explained. "It happened for a while. For a long time I resented and despised him. But the moment I got done with that movie, the resentment went."

Mo'Nique revealed that she has not spoken to Gerald for four years, adding: "I love my brother. The last conversation we had was, 'I never want to see you again and I wish you nothing but the best that life has to offer'. I understand his sickness. I just couldn't have him in my life."

Mo'Nique, who claimed that therapy "literally saved [her] life", continued: "I don't have the horror story. I was a playful child. What you see now is what I was then. I don't know if that was my way of dealing with it. I was never inward. I was outward.

"Now, at 42 years old and after going through therapy, I want to be free. I said to my brother, 'If I hate you, I'm not free. If I resent you I'm not free. But if I totally let it go, I'm free. If I let it go, God can now step in and deal with you. But as long as I hold onto it nothing can be done'."

She added that she had told her parents about the abuse when she was 15.

"For a long time I was very angry with them," she explained. "They didn't know at the time, but why didn't they do anything about it after I told them? A few years ago, my mother said, 'I didn't know what to do, you're both my children. I was embarrassed, ashamed, guilty. Do I stop loving him?' I understood what she meant so it stopped me being angry with them."

Mo'Nique also said that she is proud of the effect Precious has had on other abused people.

"With Precious, I was honoured with all the awards, but I was never looking for them," she said. "I signed up for the reward of people who would be healed. Lots of people have said, 'You've told my story'. That's amazing."