Mo'nique Talks About Her Netflix Comedy Special, 'My Name Is Mo'nique'

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Transcript

00:00 I'm so excited to be chatting with you today.

00:02 And so first things first, I wanna know,

00:05 because I had a chance to enjoy the special last night,

00:09 but I wanna know what were some of your emotions

00:12 going into this?

00:14 And why was it important for you to host this in Atlanta,

00:17 which is a place that I know you've called home

00:19 for nearly 14 years now?

00:22 - You better know your homework, baby.

00:24 The emotion going into it for me,

00:29 I felt like, as I said, I had something to say.

00:34 And I feel like what I have to say

00:37 may possibly make a difference.

00:40 It may possibly make you look at things a different way.

00:43 It may possibly make you be free.

00:45 It may possibly make you open up.

00:47 It may possibly make you become a better mother,

00:49 a better wife, a better friend.

00:51 So the emotion for me was,

00:55 and my husband, was for us to give a freedom

01:00 that oftentimes we're not given.

01:02 Oftentimes, especially as a black woman, baby,

01:07 you're not given that freedom to speak freely and loudly

01:11 without being labeled and titled and knocked down

01:14 and dragged and all those things.

01:16 So I'm hoping even for sweet sisters like you,

01:19 if you gotta say it, you'll say it unapologetically,

01:23 loudly and proudly.

01:25 That's what I hope.

01:26 - Yes, well, it definitely resonated, okay?

01:30 Like that message definitely came through.

01:33 And you know, one thing that I loved about this is,

01:36 it's almost like a reintroduction

01:38 because the title alone is pretty self-explanatory

01:41 with "My Name is Monique."

01:44 Who would you say Monique is in this new chapter?

01:51 - Who would I say Monique is in this new chapter?

01:54 I'll allow you to say it.

01:56 Because what happens is,

01:59 the ego can get in the way

02:03 when you start speaking about who you are

02:05 in your chapters, right?

02:09 What I would like to think of myself as, I'm just love.

02:13 And sometimes love can be painful, right?

02:17 But it's always from a place of truth and honesty

02:21 and hoping that things get better.

02:25 So I think that for me to say who was Monique now,

02:29 I've always been a person of love.

02:33 I'm not always been a person of maturity.

02:36 I've always been a person of love.

02:40 I'm not always been a person of consideration.

02:42 I've always been a person of love,

02:46 but I've not always been a person

02:48 of being able to communicate my feelings properly.

02:51 So who Monique is now is a 55 year old woman

02:57 proudly sitting in her womanhood, right?

03:00 And understanding what it is now to be a woman,

03:05 understanding what it is to be a black man's wife,

03:09 because it takes a lot to sit in that position, baby.

03:13 Understanding what it is to be a present mother,

03:18 being a present grandmother,

03:20 understanding your priorities.

03:24 So to say who was Monique is so many things, right?

03:29 But it's all wrapped up into Monique grew up.

03:34 And that's what y'all getting now.

03:36 You getting a grown woman.

03:38 I can do whatever I want.

03:40 - And you look so great.

03:43 You know, you've always just embodied this confidence,

03:46 just, you know, I was introduced to you as a little girl,

03:50 like from Virginia, I'm here in Atlanta now.

03:53 And it's just like watching over the years,

03:56 it's just been amazing to watch and support you.

03:58 So it's even me talking to you now, it's full circle,

04:02 you know, so I'm just so elated.

04:05 And just speaking of like to truly understand who you are,

04:09 you have to recognize where you come from,

04:11 which you focus on in the special

04:14 through how you were raised.

04:17 So how do you think this will help people

04:19 kind of peel back those layers of who you are as a person?

04:22 Because you know, we see what we see,

04:26 but like this is just a more vulnerable side of you.

04:31 - You know, I think my story,

04:34 and I say this humbly,

04:38 'cause I never wanna sound, you know, vain,

04:42 but I think that my story is your story,

04:45 it's your mama's story, it's your grandmama's story,

04:49 it's the Asian sister over in Japan story,

04:52 it's the brother down in Mississippi in the backwoods,

04:55 it's his story, it's our story

04:58 that we've been too afraid to say out loud.

05:00 It's our story that we've been too afraid to say,

05:03 this is what I'm insecure about,

05:05 this is what I'm vulnerable about,

05:07 this is what I'm nervous about,

05:08 this is what I'm fearful about,

05:10 because we as black women,

05:11 we've been taught to be so damn strong, baby,

05:14 we don't know what it is when we get a man to come in

05:17 and say, "I don't need you to stand up peeing,

05:20 I got this, can you have a seat?

05:23 I don't need you to open your car door, I got that.

05:27 I don't need you."

05:29 So I'm hoping that when we walk away from it,

05:33 every person that's gonna watch can take a piece from it

05:37 and say, "Let me hold that right here."

05:40 And I hope that people can hear it.

05:42 And I hope that people can understand

05:44 that I'm not just saying this to do for me.

05:47 Yes, laugh, laugh your ass off,

05:49 laugh your ass off, 'cause I'm a comedian.

05:53 But as I said, I got something to say

05:55 and I hope people can hear it.

05:57 - Yes, heard you.

05:59 And just lastly, along with this standup special,

06:03 you're also on our television screens.

06:05 I had a chance to watch you in "The Reading"

06:07 and you're also on "BMF."

06:08 Particularly given that you were most likely here

06:12 in Atlanta during BMF's reign.

06:15 So what was that like?

06:17 - Okay, so I only saw "BMF" one time

06:22 that was doing "Freak Nick."

06:24 But I was like, "Baby, let me tell you something."

06:27 Okay, thank you, okay.

06:29 I was riding by and I saw all these people,

06:32 and they be like, "That's the BMF guy."

06:33 Well, that's as much as I know.

06:35 Okay, just do that.

06:37 Um, but with the character Goldie,

06:40 and first let me just say this.

06:42 I'm so proud of every last one of them, baby.

06:46 Nicole, Russell, Meech, Devonchi.

06:51 They are just blowing it out the water.

06:53 They are so awesome.

06:54 The writers and Randy, they're just awesome, right?

06:58 And when 50 called me about Goldie,

07:01 he said, "You and Randy can develop her."

07:05 You and Randy make her out.

07:08 And when Randy and I talked,

07:09 and we just going back and forth, going back and forth.

07:11 It was a great time.

07:12 Well, when I got on that set,

07:14 you know who Goldie was for me?

07:16 Goldie was my Aunt Vera.

07:18 And my Aunt Vera, baby, was a big woman by 500 pounds,

07:22 would put on a catsuit, had nails out to here,

07:25 and anything you thought you wanted,

07:27 my Aunt Vera could provide, okay?

07:30 So she was the government's worst nightmare,

07:32 but she was the community's hero.

07:35 You hear what I'm saying to you, baby?

07:36 Yes, that's who Goldie is.

07:39 - I love that, Monique.

07:41 It was just a pleasure to chat with you again.

07:43 You're a living legend and an icon,

07:45 and it was just an honor to chat with you today.

07:48 So congratulations in all your endeavors moving forward.

07:52 - Thank you, sweet baby.

07:53 And until we meet again, and we will, keep going.

07:56 - All right, thank you.

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