Lee Daniels Reveals How His Spiritual Journey and Finding Forgiveness with Mo’Nique Influenced ‘The Deliverance’

Lee Daniels’ latest film is about literally breaking free out of your demons.

“The Deliverance” follows Ebony (Andra Day), an alcoholic mother who struggles to boost her children on her own after her husband is deployed to Iraq. She is joined by her mother and kid’s grandmother, Alberta (Glenn Close), who led a tough life before finding religion. The family moves to a brand new home in Pennsylvania, where the youngsters turn into possessed by demons. With the assistance of Pastor Bernice James (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Ebony must save her family from evil spirits and, in the method, save herself.

“When it was first introduced to me a long time ago, after ‘Precious,’ I didn’t want to do it because Ebony beat her kids,” Daniels explains. “I didn’t want to repeat that. I just didn’t want to do it about abuse. I didn’t want to do it because I really believe in being an open portal when I work. I didn’t want that (badness) on myself, but I realized that many, many years later, we’re in dark times.”

“I’m here to scare you into your higher power,” he continues. “For me, it’s Jesus. For (others), it might be Allah or Buddha or whoever your higher power is. But to lead you to higher spirituality, because before this (film), I wasn’t in a place of (a) spiritualist.”

To guard against evil spirits, Daniels says he prayed day by day with the forged and crew before filming began and had a pastor on set. The director was very specific about who he wanted within the production, and the shortlist included actress Mo’Nique, with whom Daniels had a 13-year feud.

The two women clashed in 2009 when Mo’Nique refused to advertise Daniels’ film “Precious,” wherein she starred. In 2022, Daniels apologized to Mo’Nique, who won an Oscar for her performance, ending their feud and paving the way in which for his or her 2023 movies “The Reading” and “The Deliverance.”

“(I learned) I had to forgive and show forgiveness. I had to apologize,” Daniels says. “And not just apologize, but apologize publicly. And not just apologize publicly, but say, ‘Hey girl, let’s do it again.’ But not just, ‘Let’s do it again,’ but let me dress you in something that’s the complete opposite of what you did (in ‘Precious’). I’ll dress you in Gucci and jewelry, even though social workers don’t make that kind of money. We’re going to have a good time.”

“Even talking about it now, I get emotional because it was a meeting with my sister that I can’t even talk about,” he adds. “It was cozy. I felt like I was going to say, ‘I’m never going to let this happen again.’”

Daniels and Mo’Nique’s reconciliation points to a different theme in “The Deliverance”: faith and celebrating black women. When Ebony first talks in regards to the supernatural happenings in her home, nobody believes her. Daniels wants viewers to learn through the film that they need to imagine black women once they speak out.

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“So often, black women are not believed. Look at Kamala Harris today, you know what I mean?” Daniels says. “It’s incredible. We don’t believe black women. And for me, it was about our women being believed. That was a really key part (of the film). I enjoy working with black women so much. They raised me. They protected me. My aunts protected me as a child. And so I celebrate them, their flaws, their beauty and their complications. I’m fascinated. For me, I was on the playground (on set).”

“The Deliverance” is now available to look at on Netflix.