Mary J. Blige Spent More Money To Be In ‘Mudbound’ Than She Earned

Despite Mary J. Blige receiving a slew of accolades ― including an Oscar nomination ― for her role in “Mudbound,” new reports indicate that she spent more on the role than she made.

Nominated for best supporting actress and best original song in “Mudbound,” Blige said the film left her with expenses that far outweighed the monetary compensation received, according to a report in The Blast. The report did not specify what exactly those expenses were or how much she received.

Blige also reportedly said that she’d been in need of finding new projects to make money and that her TV/film roles were not lucrative, citing touring as her main source of income. She said her roles on television and film were more integral to supporting her image and brand than her wallet.

Netflix declined a request for comment.

This latest news came to light after Blige recently filed court documents ahead of her upcoming divorce trial with Kendu Isaacs. According to the documents, she is refusing his request for spousal support, saying Isaacs is responsible for financial hardships. 

The divorce battle began in July 2016. Blige claimed that Isaacs only sees her as his “bank” and that she’s paying down the $12 million in debt the two accrued while married. While Isaacs claimed he is currently “unemployable” and was recently hospitalized due to stress from the divorce. 

Of the divorce chaos, Blige told Variety in September of last year that she’s “not happy about a lot of things.”

“I thought someone loved me, right? Turns out, he was a con artist and he didn’t, and now he’s coming after me for all my money,” she said. “When you come out of something like that, you realize you were never the one. There was someone else that was his queen. I got played. I got suckered.”