Something quietly monumental happened in the life of Oscar-winning actress and comedian Mo'Nique over Memorial Day weekend, not on a stage or screen, but smack in the middle of her family. Mo'Nique, the no-holds-barred comic and performer we all fell in love with many movies ago, shared a much more personal role on Instagram. The photos said it all: a radiant Mo'Nique cuddling her eldest son, Shalon Jackson, both doubled over in laughter in a way only forgiveness permits.
"GRATEFUL!!!! I LOVE US 4REAL!!!"
For those who have been following Mo'Nique's journey, this reunion felt like a long-wanted chapter finally being penned. Publicly, their relationship has been tense at times, with both mother and son airing their grievances over the years, often to a painful degree. What was a private affair became part of the public conversation between two people, obviously in pain, obviously not of one mind, slogging through it in front of the entire globe.
Jackson lashed out at his mother on social media, and things heated. But after spending the holiday weekend together, he returned online with something very different: accountability.
"Creating those videos a year ago was an act of rebellion against our family," he confessed in a heart-rending video, "and I need to take full responsibility for that." Thanking his family for their patience and grace, Strickland realized, "Bottom line, I was wrong, and I shouldn't have said any of what I said."
That kind of humility doesn't often happen in public and rarely from both sides. Jackson even admitted his mother and her husband, Sidney Hicks, were right to use their voice when they made comments regarding his battle with mental health issues. "I just simply didn't like it," he said, but the backlash they got was unfair and unwarranted.
Mo'Nique previously clutched the broken bond in a candid discussion on the Club Shay Shay podcast. "We are very much still apart," she said at the time, in a subdued, hopeful tone. "You have to talk to the universe and say, let time heal."
So Jackson, then, clapped back, if a tad critically, describing her mule biscuits as a "false narrative" before bluntly saying that neither had been willing to make peace.
The wounds were not healed this past weekend but were recognized. If you have ever felt the long silence and aching distance that have characterized Mo'Nique's relationship with her son, the news of a reunion isn't just news to you; it's a reminder that healing is possible after years of pain.
There is no script for forgiveness, and there is no camera cue for makeup. Mo'Nique and Shalon Jackson stepped off the stage and into each other's arms, and that, folks, deserves a standing ovation.
"GRATEFUL!!!! I LOVE US 4REAL!!!"
For those who have been following Mo'Nique's journey, this reunion felt like a long-wanted chapter finally being penned. Publicly, their relationship has been tense at times, with both mother and son airing their grievances over the years, often to a painful degree. What was a private affair became part of the public conversation between two people, obviously in pain, obviously not of one mind, slogging through it in front of the entire globe.
Jackson lashed out at his mother on social media, and things heated. But after spending the holiday weekend together, he returned online with something very different: accountability.
"Creating those videos a year ago was an act of rebellion against our family," he confessed in a heart-rending video, "and I need to take full responsibility for that." Thanking his family for their patience and grace, Strickland realized, "Bottom line, I was wrong, and I shouldn't have said any of what I said."
That kind of humility doesn't often happen in public and rarely from both sides. Jackson even admitted his mother and her husband, Sidney Hicks, were right to use their voice when they made comments regarding his battle with mental health issues. "I just simply didn't like it," he said, but the backlash they got was unfair and unwarranted.
Mo'Nique previously clutched the broken bond in a candid discussion on the Club Shay Shay podcast. "We are very much still apart," she said at the time, in a subdued, hopeful tone. "You have to talk to the universe and say, let time heal."
So Jackson, then, clapped back, if a tad critically, describing her mule biscuits as a "false narrative" before bluntly saying that neither had been willing to make peace.
The wounds were not healed this past weekend but were recognized. If you have ever felt the long silence and aching distance that have characterized Mo'Nique's relationship with her son, the news of a reunion isn't just news to you; it's a reminder that healing is possible after years of pain.
There is no script for forgiveness, and there is no camera cue for makeup. Mo'Nique and Shalon Jackson stepped off the stage and into each other's arms, and that, folks, deserves a standing ovation.
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