Taraji P. Henson's ability to bring her character Cookie to life has gained her praise from critics and expanded her fanbase, but Mo'nique says she was the first choice for the hit drama.

In an interview with Inside Edition, Monique responded to reports after Empire creator Lee Daniels claimed the Oscar winning actress was difficult to work with. Daniels directed the comedienne in Precious, which landed her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. After calling Lee a friend, she says he wanted her to play Cookie alongside Terrence Howard (Lucius Lyon.) Mo'nique says as she waited for the script, but Lee told her the FOX executives scrapped the idea and went with Henson instead.

"Maybe four days had gone by, and I hadn't heard anything," she said. "So I'm trying to reach out to him to say, what time do I need to be in? Where do I need to be? When he finally returned the call, he says listen, the executives at Fox said that you're difficult. Trent asked, 'Mo'Nique are you difficult to work with? This is Lee Daniels, your friend, saying these things.'

When I hear Mr. Daniels making those comments, he and I know that that's not true."

The comedienne says she wishes Daniels would have stood up for her instead of letting the rumor get out of hand. In a previous interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Daniels stood by his claims and says the actress made demands during press time for Precious that rubbed many the wrong way.

Mo'nique explained that her demands were no different from any actor. She requested to be paid to promote the film during the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

"If you work a job Monday through Friday and you work 40 hours and then your boss says, 'well I need you to come in on Saturday,' do you do that for free, or is that considered overtime?" she said. "There is a double standard with men and women in the industry but it's not just in this industry, that's just life, period."

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Source: Inside Edition | Photo Credit: Splash NewsÂ