Before Mo’Nique announced the start of her set, the crowd went into an uproar of applause. You see, we love Mo’Nique in Detroit. We always have and always will. As the Baltimore native strolled onto the stage looking like that one and never the two, the vast majority of us stood up to welcome this queen back to the motor city.

As we eventually settled, she began to tell us of this alleged contractual mishap in which her contract stated that she was the headliner and would close out the show. She then proceeded down the road of delivering a fiery read that can only be compared to similar verbal shakedowns from Joan Collins’ character of Alexis Carrington in Dynasty.

She stated that Hughley was upset because he felt like he should’ve been the headliner. She also stated that he dismissed her highly-decorative career by saying she isn’t on the same level as Dave Chappelle or Amy Schumer. You’ve likely seen the rant by now, along with her abundance of receipts (I’m not mad at you, auntie), but what I’ve noticed is there is no footage of Hughley’s response or comedy set.

Before we get into that, it’s worth noting that Mo’Nique’s set garnered even more cheers than when she first stepped foot onto the stage. When Hughley made his way onto the scene, he made some dry jokes that we’re all sadly accustomed to by now, but for me, the shocker was the blatant transphobia.

In one of his jokes, he told the crowd that he doesn’t prefer trans women because he likes his women put together organically. What does that even mean? He stated that regardless of someone’s gender transition from man to woman, they’d still be getting a call from the doctor about a prostate exam. I was appalled.

Say what you want about Mo’Nique but not once in her performance did she make any discriminatory jokes toward marginalized communities. For someone who allegedly feels that he should’ve been the headliner of a show where multiple people in the audience might identify as LGBTQ+, it would’ve behooved him not to be transphobic. Instead, whereas Mo’Nique talked about her life’s experiences, career and much more while making it comedic, Hughley had to resort to stale, lackluster and dangerous barbs at a community that already faces so much violence.

To make these brainless quips about someone’s gender identity proves that Hughley is simply not funny, and he shouldn’t even be allowed to headline the Piggly Wiggly. Also, this constant need to paint Mo’Nique as this angry Black woman who isn’t deserving of decency and respect is played out just as much as those filthy fedora hats he’s been sporting for the last several decades.

It’s hard for me to take any criticism of Mo’Nique seriously when most of them are rooted in misogynoir and respectability politics. When white women speak up for what they want, they’re hailed as profound feminists who’ve stood tall in the face of gender inequality. When Black women like Mo’Nique do the same, they’re labeled as bitter and difficult to work with, and their accomplishments are always compared to people who haven’t even accumulated an ounce of their resume in their careers.

I urge you all to unpack this anti-Blackness that lives so deep within you that it blinds you to the apparent bigotry that has negatively impacted Mo’Mique’s career. In this era where so many of you encourage Black people to speak up for themselves with the promise that the community will have our backs, it’s interesting to see you all turn a blind eye to Mo’Nique. Or is that camaraderie only dedicated to Black men or Black people who so gallantly play into respectability politics to preserve their careers? Make it make sense.

Lately, there have been talks about the repercussions of cancel culture. You all were up in arms when Tory Lanez was canceled for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion. You all had a lot to say when R. Kelly was canceled for facing the repercussions of his criminal actions. Most of you certainly had something to say when DaBaby was held accountable for his homophobic words last year.

But now, when we have a Black woman speaking up for herself and making a case for why she should be treated with simple decorum and honored for her timeless contributions to pop culture and Black culture, it’s a problem. So spare me the hot takes on Mo’Nique and ask yourselves why you’re more comfortable with a Black woman being maligned and shredded apart than you are acknowledging that she was wronged. Just last summer, you all used #ProtectBlackWomen until it bled dry. Was that a myth? It indeed seems so.