Monique to the Gays God Aint Judging You

In between awards show appearances for her career-defining performance in Precious, Mo'Nique still finds time to host her nightly Mo'Nique Show on BET. On Monday's episode she and gospel singer Miki Howard talked a bit about God, the church, and the gays.

Howard, best known for her R&B hit "Love Under New Management," discussed her new book, Always Has Shoes, and brought up gay people's relationship with the church, specifically mentioning the Reverend James Cleveland, a gospel singer she says was closeted.

"One good thing that I really wanted to talk about in the book is the gay aspect of church that we don't talk about in our community," Howard said. "I grew up in the James Cleveland church, and it was really gay. We didn't know that people thought that was bad. We didn't know that outsiders thought that was bad. So that's one thing we really explore in the book and how I came to be me."

Mo'Nique, who has been a longtime supporter of gay rights, agreed: "I applaud you for addressing that, because most times we run from it. ... I applaud you for not judging it, because like you said, we didn't know anything was wrong with it. For all our gay brothers and sisters watching, please know that you are always welcomed, baby. We love you -- the no judgment zone! If you in church and you gay, God ain't judging, baby, so be who you wanna be."

Watch the video below. Howard's segment starts at the 21-minute mark.