Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
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.