Speaker 1: Real people, real celebrity joined the Breakfast Morning. Everybody is
Speaker 1: DJ Mvy, Angela Yee, Charlomagne the guy. We are the
Speaker 1: Breakfast Club. We have a special guest with us this morning.
Speaker 1: I don't even know, just calling one of the queens
Speaker 1: of comedy. You seem like you do so much more
Speaker 1: than that. Now, hey baby, good morning. She came in
Speaker 1: here on nights. I thought she was gonna come in
Speaker 1: and yell at us or something. Wow, Now I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1: She said, your reputation procede you. Everybody think you're difficult
Speaker 1: and angry all the time. For the folks that know me,
Speaker 1: they know that's that's truly a joke. Absolutely, I'm a
Speaker 1: simming this baby, don't know me too well kidding, I
Speaker 1: think you were going to really do that. Actually, I've
Speaker 1: seen a lot of your interviews lately, yes, and it
Speaker 1: does seem a little odd that people would act like
Speaker 1: you were so difficult and angry all the time. Obviously,
Speaker 1: we know you as a comedian first, you know, always
Speaker 1: pretty funny, and then we've seen you do some great
Speaker 1: acting roles. We've seen your you know, your own TV show,
Speaker 1: your own stock show. So I was like, where did
Speaker 1: this come from? You know, well, angry is the first
Speaker 1: time I've heard that word, and that's that's new for
Speaker 1: me this morning. The difficulty, I think comes in when
Speaker 1: they're used to hearing people say yes, and the moment
Speaker 1: you get that no, that can be considered difficult aboutely
Speaker 1: because if we're normally getting the yes and we run
Speaker 1: into the person that says no, that could be a
Speaker 1: little difficult that I'm not going to change my note
Speaker 1: toy yes, So I can see how people would say
Speaker 1: that absolutely that what you're saying no, you said you
Speaker 1: got that actually from Martin. Martin gave you some great advice.
Speaker 1: You know. When we did Roscoe Jenkins, that brother pulled
Speaker 1: me in his trailer and he said, Monique, don't ever
Speaker 1: let them tell you what you can't have. Now his
Speaker 1: trailer was a three floor penhouse. Okay, baby laid out,
Speaker 1: and as we were talking, that brother was just giving
Speaker 1: me that kind of brotherly and sisterly love, saying, they
Speaker 1: will tell you no, they will tell you it's impossible.
Speaker 1: Don't let them tell you what you can't have. As
Speaker 1: I'm standing in his three story penhouse trailer, now, let
Speaker 1: me ask you question as as our people black people
Speaker 1: say black people were scaring say black say black black
Speaker 1: people people. It feels like we're scared to say no.
Speaker 1: It feels like sometimes that when we get something, it
Speaker 1: feels like entitlement. You see that a lot with us,
Speaker 1: because no matter what it is, it seems like if
Speaker 1: somebody gives us something, we're like, okay, thank you, instead
Speaker 1: of saying no, that's not my value, that's not my worth. Well,
Speaker 1: I think historically we've done that, you know. I think
Speaker 1: that when you come from a place where we've never
Speaker 1: gotten any money to then we're gonna get a little
Speaker 1: bit of money and we're just grateful for that little
Speaker 1: bit of money. Then you have the people saying, well, no,
Speaker 1: we need our worth, and you still have those people
Speaker 1: saying we should just be happy with what we're getting.
Speaker 1: So it's not something that's new, it's something historically that
Speaker 1: has always happened. So to say do I see it now, well,
Speaker 1: we've always seen it. If we've been paying attention. Do
Speaker 1: you have a problem with like you say no, yes,
Speaker 1: and then another comedian who's doesn't care about their value
Speaker 1: or that's really just trying to trip you, we'll say
Speaker 1: yes and get that job, and that could have been
Speaker 1: something that maybe you could have got or something that
Speaker 1: would have been big for you, but you said no
Speaker 1: when they undercut you. Does that happen a lot to you? Well,
Speaker 1: I don't think it's a thing of undercutting. You know.
Speaker 1: If you read Lewis Gotsi's book, Lewis goots said, what
Speaker 1: Hollywood does understand what one won't do, another one will.
Speaker 1: So oftentimes you'll see us taking roles because when we
Speaker 1: take a stand and say I can't accept that you
Speaker 1: have to pay me what my resume says I'm worth, well,
Speaker 1: they say, well, you know what another one will. And
Speaker 1: I don't fault that other one, whoever that other one is,
Speaker 1: because I don't know that situation. So for whatever reason
Speaker 1: someone says yes I will, I can't judge it because
Speaker 1: I don't know it. I only know mine. And there
Speaker 1: are certain things that you have to say, we got
Speaker 1: a order line in the sand, because if not, my
Speaker 1: sweet sister, your opportunities wouldn't come to you the way
Speaker 1: that they do and for the next sister. So I
Speaker 1: think that's what this is all bawling down to. You
Speaker 1: have some that will and something that won't. What about
Speaker 1: all the independent movies that people are making that what
Speaker 1: if there's truly no budget, but you think it's a
Speaker 1: great script, but they can't pay you your resume? You know,
Speaker 1: then can you say, Okay, you know what, this is
Speaker 1: actually a great opportunity. I love it. I underst and
Speaker 1: that you're a new you know, you don't have the funding.
Speaker 1: I'm down, you know what. That's a great point, says
Speaker 1: And with Blackbird, the movie that's coming out Friday, April
Speaker 1: twenty fourth, it's independent and the reason why Sitney and
Speaker 1: I really wanted to be a part of it was
Speaker 1: number one, the message was amazing and it's amazing. Sitney,
Speaker 1: my husband and we were able to executive produce it.
Speaker 1: And we have real ownership, right So when you're that
Speaker 1: passionate about something and you say, I'll not take the
Speaker 1: full money upfront, but we own some of that. So
Speaker 1: in success, we will reap the benefits. As long as
Speaker 1: you see that movie, wherever you see it, we reap
Speaker 1: the benefits from it. Sometimes what happens is you'll see
Speaker 1: something over and over and over again, but we reap
Speaker 1: the benefit one time, then somebody else continues to reap
Speaker 1: that benefit. So for us, we appreciate the independent route
Speaker 1: because it gives us ownership of our image and our likeness,
Speaker 1: and they should appreciate that too, because and that means
Speaker 1: you believed in it so much that you're like, I
Speaker 1: want to put my name on this, I want to
Speaker 1: be involved. I know that my name and my skills
Speaker 1: are going to help take this to the next level,
Speaker 1: and we all get paid. You know. I think it's
Speaker 1: a mutual respect all the way around. You know, it's
Speaker 1: not one doing something for the other, it's we're doing
Speaker 1: something for each other, and we believe in the project.
Speaker 1: So let's get married together in this business deal and
Speaker 1: make it happen. It's easier to do that when you
Speaker 1: got the money, though, it's easier to do be independent. Well.
Speaker 1: You know, when you're independent, just like anything else, you
Speaker 1: go for funding, You go for investors, just like you're
Speaker 1: going to the studio. The studio is an investor. Now
Speaker 1: they get mostly all and then something back. But when
Speaker 1: you go independently, it's no different. You're going to those investors,
Speaker 1: those people to fund it. Now, what made you want
Speaker 1: to make Blackbird? Do you have somebody like in your
Speaker 1: family that's dealing with sexual identity issues? I think that
Speaker 1: every single person that's listening to every one of y'all,
Speaker 1: every one of us has somebody in our family that's
Speaker 1: dealing with or has dealt with their sexuality. And the
Speaker 1: reason why Blackbird was so important is because so many
Speaker 1: of our babies are struggling with trying to accept who
Speaker 1: they are and be accepted. Because in this day and age,
Speaker 1: you have people still struggling with something that makes you say,
Speaker 1: I can't believe we're still fighting with other human beings
Speaker 1: just to be the way they are. So with Blackbird,
Speaker 1: this is a story about a young brother coming up
Speaker 1: in a Deep South seventeen years old in high school
Speaker 1: on a roll student, a really good guy, but he's
Speaker 1: fighting with the sexuality because he's been raised in a
Speaker 1: strict Christian upbringing that it's a sin, you're condemned to hell,
Speaker 1: you are a disgrace if you are a homosexual. So
Speaker 1: you see this baby trying to deal with that. His mother,
Speaker 1: the character that I play, she's one of those women
Speaker 1: that she believes everything in the Bible, she believes everything
Speaker 1: on that pulpit. So to her to find out that
Speaker 1: her baby is gay and then she's still fighting the
Speaker 1: abduction of her daughter. Oh baby, she thinks that little
Speaker 1: boy has disgraced the family, going to hell. He is
Speaker 1: the worst creature on the face of this earth trying
Speaker 1: to deal with fat So you see the dynamic behind
Speaker 1: the duor. Isaiah Washington, who is absolutely brilliant, plays the
Speaker 1: dad in this movie. And only when you see a
Speaker 1: dad on TV plane, a father to a gay son,
Speaker 1: it's the church stereotypical. I hate you how it's the
Speaker 1: exact It is the exact opposent, and Isaiah Washington loves
Speaker 1: his baby through it. So we appreciative to show that
Speaker 1: character and not unique. There are fathers that love their
Speaker 1: sons through it, loved their daughters through it, but we
Speaker 1: just don't get a chance to see it. So it's
Speaker 1: one of those films that we believe will change hearts,
Speaker 1: open minds, and start different conversation, different conversations in our churches. Yes,
Speaker 1: my life, what made you want to take on another struggle?
Speaker 1: Because you're black, your female, you got your own issues
Speaker 1: in America? What made you want to deal with the
Speaker 1: issue of the issues homosexual homosexual face? You know, because
Speaker 1: it's just the issue of love. And when I was
Speaker 1: sixteen years old, I was introduced to that culture with
Speaker 1: some beautiful young gay black brothers and they all have
Speaker 1: the same story most of them. Did you know, I
Speaker 1: was thrown away the church don't want me no more?
Speaker 1: And their ruggling to find their place. Now most of
Speaker 1: those brothers are gone today. So during this movie was
Speaker 1: truly my love letter to those brothers saying we hope
Speaker 1: this makes a difference. And the brother playing the character,
Speaker 1: the star of the movie, Julian Walker, when I tell y'all,
Speaker 1: this baby was so brave and so courageous and so
Speaker 1: fearless because to take on that role and he didn't
Speaker 1: know to be afraid. It's the first thing he's ever done.
Speaker 1: Just like Gabaree, Citabey and Precious got the same feelings
Speaker 1: with that baby. With this baby, to take on such
Speaker 1: a role and not be concerned about what people might
Speaker 1: think and just give it its honesty. It is something
Speaker 1: to see that you and Lee Daniels cool because it's
Speaker 1: not right his alley. You know, I'm gonna say this,
Speaker 1: Lee Daniels and I are cool. It's one of those
Speaker 1: things when you know how you have a friend and
Speaker 1: a friend go to a left a little bit and
Speaker 1: you wait for him to come on back over. That's
Speaker 1: what it is. I'm just waiting for him to come
Speaker 1: on back over. That's come on back over, and you
Speaker 1: would work with him again. Yes, I think Lee Daniels
Speaker 1: is one of the most brilliant visionaries of our generation.
Speaker 1: Right now, why did you feel to need to show
Speaker 1: the emails about being offered the role of Cookie because
Speaker 1: they was lying on you because my character was in
Speaker 1: question and I took pride of my character. Now, if
Speaker 1: people who just joined us that they don't understand you
Speaker 1: were offered the role yes, Cookie, Yes, and yet the
Speaker 1: emails to prove it. But you know, on the other side,
Speaker 1: they were saying she was never offered that role. So
Speaker 1: it kind of made you look like girl. Didn't make
Speaker 1: me look crazy, y'all know, Mama ain't crazy. Yeah, that
Speaker 1: was it. It was. It was when mister Strong made
Speaker 1: the statement she was never offered the role and that
Speaker 1: never happened. It's like, as I have the communication here, right, so,
Speaker 1: I don't want to play that game, but I have
Speaker 1: to say, when you're putting something out that is not
Speaker 1: true and it's an attack on my character, let me
Speaker 1: show you what it is. So explain what happened. Break
Speaker 1: it down. So you got to offer the role, yes, Empire,
Speaker 1: of course Cookie, And then what happened got off with
Speaker 1: the role of Empire for Cookie and normally the way
Speaker 1: Leon I do business. When he called me for Shadowboxer,
Speaker 1: it was a call from Lee. Hey my mom got
Speaker 1: this part. I want you to play, No problem, send
Speaker 1: me the script. That's it. Attorneys get involved, we do
Speaker 1: the deal. Same thing with Prescious. Hey my mom got
Speaker 1: this role, want you to do it? We call attorneys,
Speaker 1: get involved. Deal is done. Well. It was no difference
Speaker 1: with this one. That's how we've always done business. Hey
Speaker 1: my mom got this role for you. It's Cookie for
Speaker 1: this pilot. I'm doing Empire. We laughed and joked about it,
Speaker 1: talked about it, got the size for it. He's sitting there, listen,
Speaker 1: you need to do this technical thing, this screen testing,
Speaker 1: because it's TV and you know I don't know too
Speaker 1: much about TV. No problem, brother, that's my boy. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna do it. While when we were waiting to get
Speaker 1: the date to do the screen tests, that's when all
Speaker 1: the confusion begin to come in. Cauls weren't being returned.
Speaker 1: It's like, Hey, what's happening? When I finally get a call,
Speaker 1: he says, listen, Fox said, you're difficult. I said, I'm difficult,
Speaker 1: he said, And I told them, let you be my difficulty.
Speaker 1: I said, brother, while, but you tell them that you're
Speaker 1: not never had any problems with each other. He was like, well,
Speaker 1: they just want to go with to Rogie p Henson. Hey,
Speaker 1: she's gonna knock it out the part, no problem, I said,
Speaker 1: but don't put it out there that your girl is difficult.
Speaker 1: He said, well, you know I can't let you mess
Speaker 1: with my money. Go get it, baby. That was what
Speaker 1: our conversation was. So when I see my brother going
Speaker 1: on TV and he says things that he know it's
Speaker 1: not true, it's like, just tell the conversation that we had.
Speaker 1: That's all. It's not right, wrong, or indifferent. Just tell
Speaker 1: the conversation that we had. You think you should have
Speaker 1: had your back though, you know, I mean you think
Speaker 1: you should have really, because 'all did movies with maybe
Speaker 1: his hands. Though. I don't want to mess with anybody's money.
Speaker 1: And if they're saying, listen, we're not gonna use her,
Speaker 1: we're not gonna do it with her. I don't want
Speaker 1: to mess with my brother's money, and to Rogie p
Speaker 1: Henson is the baddest Cookie Lions that television could ever see.
Speaker 1: So the person that was supposed to get it got it.
Speaker 1: But it has nothing to do with that. It's the
Speaker 1: principle of you putting it out there that it never happened.
Speaker 1: When you see that road, do you think that you
Speaker 1: could have pulled it off as good as you know? Again,
Speaker 1: my sister is killing it. There's no comparison. She's killing it.
Speaker 1: It's almost like, once you see somebody doing it, could
Speaker 1: anybody else be jj? Could anybody else have been nicky Poker?
Speaker 1: So when you see it, it's like there's no one
Speaker 1: else that could have been Cookie Lions of it than
Speaker 1: to Roger PN's Well, it's great that you've been coming
Speaker 1: out now and letting people know what really went down
Speaker 1: behind the scenes, because people were thinking, oh, maybe she's difficult.
Speaker 1: People don't want to work with her. So now are
Speaker 1: the offers pouring in? Well, you know the offers. When
Speaker 1: you say they pouring in, they never stopped coming. The
Speaker 1: scripts never stopped coming. Okay, they just didn't make sense,
Speaker 1: So there was no black ball that happened. That's the confusion.
Speaker 1: They say you black ball, But then you getting all
Speaker 1: these scripts offer there was no black I never said
Speaker 1: I was black ball. That was Lee Daniel's perception. And
Speaker 1: I tell people you have to actually Daniels about that,
Speaker 1: because it never stopped on my end. The reason why
Speaker 1: you hadn't seen me is because it just didn't make sense.
Speaker 1: And had I taken those roles and taking those offers,
Speaker 1: what do we leave for the sister coming behind us? Right?
Speaker 1: Got it? Go ahead? Monique's been around a long time.
Speaker 1: I'm sure this is your first time seeing how shady
Speaker 1: the industry is. But you know what, baby, it's life.
Speaker 1: It's not just Hollywood, It's it's across the board, and
Speaker 1: you just deal with it accordingly. And you have to
Speaker 1: ask the question, will you be willing to take a
Speaker 1: stand or will you consider to stay in the shade?
Speaker 1: Do you think that a lot of black people we
Speaker 1: take opportunity over money because we feel like it's not
Speaker 1: a lot of opportunity out there for us. We say, oh,
Speaker 1: we at least if I get in this position in
Speaker 1: the next person, you'll get paid. You know. That's that's
Speaker 1: a great question, And I think it really depends on
Speaker 1: the situation. You know, again, I can't judge anyone's situation,
Speaker 1: but I really think it depends on the situation at hand.
Speaker 1: You know, there was a story about this brother, Kirk
Speaker 1: flood Um baseball player, and I hope I'm saying this
Speaker 1: name correctly. And because of that brother is why we
Speaker 1: have free agency. And doing his time period, he was
Speaker 1: taking a stands in you're not paying us for our worth,
Speaker 1: and there were other players saying just be quiet and
Speaker 1: accepted because we've gotten an opportunity. Well, that man died,
Speaker 1: broke and ill, and then when they did the documentary
Speaker 1: documentary on him, all the players said that was alive
Speaker 1: during that time and played with him. He was right.
Speaker 1: We was just too afraid that we would get shut
Speaker 1: out and we had to feed our families. So again,
Speaker 1: you don't know people's situations, but it's just unfortunate. It
Speaker 1: takes some of us to leave here for people that
Speaker 1: didn't say they were right. Absolutely. Now, when you won
Speaker 1: the Academy award, was that a gift or was it
Speaker 1: a curse? Or was it both? It was appreciated, and
Speaker 1: any award I've ever won, I'm appreciative of it, But
Speaker 1: it wasn't the Academy that was that award that made
Speaker 1: me feel like this is that award. And I find
Speaker 1: it interesting because when we speak about what black people
Speaker 1: do and don't do, even when I come to us
Speaker 1: to do the interviews, no one's ever asked me how
Speaker 1: I felt the night that I'm won the Image Award,
Speaker 1: which is ours. No one's ever put value into our award.
Speaker 1: It's always the Oscar and I understand it because we've
Speaker 1: been conditioned to believe that's it. That's what I say
Speaker 1: about the Grammys when I see all these rappers and
Speaker 1: stuff there. I didn't even win a Grammar in the Grammy,
Speaker 1: but you don't feel that you don't even show up
Speaker 1: to the the b T Hip hop awards are to be
Speaker 1: when they call your neighbor. That's accept your award for you.
Speaker 1: It's like the moment we put value into us is
Speaker 1: the moment it becomes valuable. With the elbow point when
Speaker 1: you won out of school, you really was feeling yourself
Speaker 1: like I am the hit right now. No, baby, you
Speaker 1: know being an actress is something that literally fell in
Speaker 1: my lap. But you're from the bottom though, like you
Speaker 1: was a stand up comic. Is that I'm never head, baby,
Speaker 1: don't make me bring Drake to the show. Don't do
Speaker 1: it from the stage comments, Yes, they come up from
Speaker 1: that stage. Win the Academy award. That's a big big deal,
Speaker 1: you know. To to win any award is a big
Speaker 1: big deal for me because whenever they call my name,
Speaker 1: I'm that little girl standing in my bathroom mirror saying,
Speaker 1: one day with a brush in my hand and a
Speaker 1: tail around my body, I'm that little girl. And I
Speaker 1: don't care what award it is, but the trophies that
Speaker 1: I'm really appreciative of. My son's football trophy. Talk about
Speaker 1: one is twenty five. Michael's eleven, and the twins David
Speaker 1: and Jonathan are nine. Now, y'all gotta understand why the
Speaker 1: football trophies are the biggest trophies and the hits residence
Speaker 1: because Michael is a superstar football player. Baby. He runs
Speaker 1: all around these children, touchdowns, tackles. He's getting it. But
Speaker 1: the twins, okay, they don't. They don't really do it
Speaker 1: like that. So when they got their trophies, we were
Speaker 1: so proud. We were like, these on the trophies right here, baby.
Speaker 1: But now did I show off with those trophies? Yes?
Speaker 1: I did. I called all my friends and said, y'all
Speaker 1: don't even want to see none of this, baby, the
Speaker 1: Hicks Brothers trophy. Do you ever think about going and
Speaker 1: doing another stand up comedy tour about That's the same
Speaker 1: thing I've never stopped. I've never stopped like a full tour.
Speaker 1: Like before I came here to New York, I was
Speaker 1: in cents a Tucky doing the improfit Censor Tucky. Okay,
Speaker 1: it's Cincinnati and Kentucky, baby, but crossed the street over
Speaker 1: on the other and they call it Censor Tucky. I
Speaker 1: was confused to listen, baby, that don't sound like a
Speaker 1: difficult person to me. Let me tell you, I love
Speaker 1: that circuit because it gives me the opportunity to say
Speaker 1: thank you, and it gives me the opportunity to continue
Speaker 1: to say no to things that just don't make sense.
Speaker 1: And when I was listening to Richard Pryor, Richard Pryor's
Speaker 1: best work and my humble opinion for me, was in
Speaker 1: the clubs. It was when it was intimate, right there
Speaker 1: in your face. You could feel that I'm smoking, you
Speaker 1: can feel I'm drinking, you can feel the waitresses. That
Speaker 1: was the best for me, and I love that intimacy.
Speaker 1: I love being on that club stage, and we are
Speaker 1: right there together even after all of that, and they
Speaker 1: say more, why would you come back to the clubs?
Speaker 1: Because I can and I'm supposed to. And it's my
Speaker 1: way of saying thank you and thank y'all for letting
Speaker 1: me to continue to say no to things that don't
Speaker 1: make sense. That means you're making a lot of money
Speaker 1: in them clubs. This HBO. Bessie said, yeah, what is Bessie?
Speaker 1: What is this? Blacks? Where the black balling coming from?
Speaker 1: You're getting all his working man? Now, now you could
Speaker 1: day the face that's the playground face. I don't know.
Speaker 1: They said mean things about me in the sind ybe No,
Speaker 1: they don't want to get on the sea saw with me.
Speaker 1: I go no. You know again, you know how they say,
Speaker 1: don't believe everything you hear and half of what you see.
Speaker 1: It was so easy to jump to the negative. It
Speaker 1: was so easy. And people said, Monique, how do you
Speaker 1: feel that some of your peers or people were saying
Speaker 1: this and that. I said, y'all, I'm no different than
Speaker 1: the sister that working the burger king. Somebody started a
Speaker 1: rumor and it kept spreading and it went to all
Speaker 1: the burger kings in that region, and no one came
Speaker 1: to the sister that was frying to god dag on
Speaker 1: burgers and asked her, what really happened? Did you really
Speaker 1: drop the burger on the floor and put it back
Speaker 1: in the bun and give it to the president of
Speaker 1: the company. No one ever took the time out to ask.
Speaker 1: So it's just being able to say for what really happened.
Speaker 1: And I appreciate the brothers and sisters to say, mo,
Speaker 1: what happened instead of jumping to that place of this
Speaker 1: is what went down and we know it. Bessie Smith
Speaker 1: was one of the greatest blue singers of our time,
Speaker 1: of that time, and Queen Latifa plays Bessie Smith. And
Speaker 1: when I tell y'all that, in my humble opinion, it
Speaker 1: is her best performance to date because she is Bessie Smith.
Speaker 1: Remember how Jamie was Rachel. Queen Latifa is Bessie Smith.
Speaker 1: It's scary. I mean, this sister is so amazing in
Speaker 1: this role that you. As I was watching her, I'm like,
Speaker 1: go here, girl and do your thing. And it just
Speaker 1: tells her life story. And I get the opportunity to
Speaker 1: play a character named my Rainie and I never heard
Speaker 1: of this woman until I read the script. Just goes
Speaker 1: to show you that we gotta dig for our history
Speaker 1: because they don't tell her to us in schools. My
Speaker 1: Rainie was Bessie Smith's mentor. And you get a chance
Speaker 1: to see this amazing friendship between these two women that
Speaker 1: we don't often get a chance to see anymore. And
Speaker 1: you watch just the ups and downs and how this
Speaker 1: group of people during that time was able to make
Speaker 1: it through Mike Apps, Charles Dutton, Candy Alexander, Tiki something.
Speaker 1: It's It is just absolutely something to watch sixteenth on HBO.
Speaker 1: Do you ever just want to scream out, like when
Speaker 1: they say things like Monique was black, bitch, I'm working
Speaker 1: come to the show, and I was going to pass
Speaker 1: that with your husband. You and your husband are so tight, Yes,
Speaker 1: do you ever have to check him and be like, baby,
Speaker 1: don't go punch that man in his face because you
Speaker 1: know it's this is you know you was baby and
Speaker 1: this is a partnership. Now you know my husband has
Speaker 1: to check me. Okay, my husband, I've been best friend
Speaker 1: since tenth grade, since we were fourteen years old, and
Speaker 1: he's probably the only human being on the face of
Speaker 1: this earth that knows me better than I know myself.
Speaker 1: So when I hear people saying that Monique and her
Speaker 1: husband are these difficult people, it makes us both laugh
Speaker 1: because we're so far from that. What we are a
Speaker 1: very honest people and we hold you to your words
Speaker 1: and your conversations, and people can have a difficult time
Speaker 1: with that. And again, that's why people will say they're difficult,
Speaker 1: because we ask questions that normally aren't asked, and they
Speaker 1: haven't practiced the answer, so before we'll get an answer,
Speaker 1: they're just these difficult people. And it's understandable. What did
Speaker 1: you think when you read about the Sony leaks, you know,
Speaker 1: where the emails were leaked from all the executives back
Speaker 1: and forth, and they were talking about all the actors,
Speaker 1: and you know, we were not in Hollywood, so we
Speaker 1: don't know how executives talking. We were like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: I can't believe they said that, and all this stuff
Speaker 1: is coming out. Were you surprising, I can't believe that,
Speaker 1: you said, I can't believe they said that. I mean,
Speaker 1: the average person, the average person is just like, wow,
Speaker 1: why are they talking like this about? You know, these
Speaker 1: famous actors are talking about Angelina and Jolie. They're going
Speaker 1: in on Kevin Hart because they're people and they do
Speaker 1: what we do as people. We talk about people, we
Speaker 1: put people to a different esteem, we hold them to
Speaker 1: a different level. Well, they're executives, but executives are what
Speaker 1: they people. It's just like that sister in the burger king,
Speaker 1: just that bank accounts are different. That's it. So once
Speaker 1: we start realizing they're just people and they do what
Speaker 1: people do, we don't put so much weight and be
Speaker 1: so shocked. How could they say that, because they just
Speaker 1: people and that's what people do. Now everybody's talking about
Speaker 1: this influxible black folks on TV right now. They see
Speaker 1: it's looking like the nineties. He thought my vib that
Speaker 1: he was saying it. Do you think it's a trend
Speaker 1: or something that's gonna last? Just do yourself a favor today.
Speaker 1: Start your TV on channel zero and go all way
Speaker 1: to one hundred and see how many of people of
Speaker 1: color you see, and then react that question. So, do
Speaker 1: we think it's an influx due? But when you just
Speaker 1: count the numbers, you'll answer your own question. True. Now,
Speaker 1: talking about Blackbird, why do you think homophobia is still
Speaker 1: so prevalent in the Black community. You know what, baby,
Speaker 1: I used to think that it was only prevalent in
Speaker 1: the Black community. And I used to think it was
Speaker 1: only our churches that were, you know, the ones that
Speaker 1: were saying put them out no more. Until we started
Speaker 1: taking this film to the festivals around the country, and
Speaker 1: what we realized was, it's not just in the Black
Speaker 1: community at all. It's in the Asian community. It's in
Speaker 1: the Latin community, it's in the Italian community, it's in
Speaker 1: the Jewish community. It's come on, now, it's in every community.
Speaker 1: Because again, it's just people. I only felt like it
Speaker 1: was in the Black community because that's the community that
Speaker 1: I deal was mainly. So I only saw the pain
Speaker 1: in our community. But then when you go out, you
Speaker 1: see that pain in all communities. True, now, you awful
Speaker 1: lot of week. Yes, it was like a hundred pounds, right.
Speaker 1: I heard you said you was the champion of big girls.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like you're abandoning them? Do you feel
Speaker 1: like I'm a small girl? You're small? Yeah, here's what's beautiful.
Speaker 1: I am still two hundred pounds. And for y'all to
Speaker 1: look at me and say you're not big? Oh how big?
Speaker 1: Oh God? And no one said a damn thing to
Speaker 1: me until one time, thing, Sasha, I watched the Parkers
Speaker 1: one time and rerun okay, and I saw Nikki's ass
Speaker 1: going to the door. I said, no one said anything.
Speaker 1: No one said And here's the thing. By no means
Speaker 1: am I ever gonna be a small woman ever. But
Speaker 1: what I do want to do is be a big,
Speaker 1: healthy woman. My husband liked the curves, he likes the roundness.
Speaker 1: But I want to be around so we can enjoy
Speaker 1: each other for a lifetime. So never will I get
Speaker 1: to be a two or four, six, eight, ten, twelve.
Speaker 1: Right now, I'm in a fourteen w sixteen, and depending
Speaker 1: on how it's cut, baby, I might need an eighteen.
Speaker 1: But okay, but I'm not trying to be that. All
Speaker 1: I'm trying to do is be around as long as
Speaker 1: I can, and to say to my big sisters, I'm
Speaker 1: going nowhere. I'm still right here, but we can be
Speaker 1: big healthy women. True. But you know what it was.
Speaker 1: You lived your truth, and when you live your truth,
Speaker 1: nobody can use your truth against you. That's why nobody
Speaker 1: ever said anything, because you owned it. If you were off,
Speaker 1: it was mine, it was mine, baby, Nobody, it was
Speaker 1: all mine until my husband was brave enough to say
Speaker 1: to me, Hey, Mama, I love you. I don't want
Speaker 1: you to be here. He he asked me how much
Speaker 1: I weighed. Well, no one ever said that, And when
Speaker 1: he said it, I knew it was three hundred pounds,
Speaker 1: but I couldn't say it, so I said two hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty six pounds, trying to be real sexy with it.
Speaker 1: He said, that's too much, and I want you for
Speaker 1: a lifetime. That was the changing point in my life
Speaker 1: because no one had ever spoken to me like that.
Speaker 1: And how did you lose the weight? Was it eating better, exercising,
Speaker 1: trying to eat things that I can pronounce. If I
Speaker 1: can't pronounce it, I try not to eat it. No,
Speaker 1: I don't always win because them damn wings at Virgiles.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you something. I don't know what they're
Speaker 1: putting on them wings, baby, but they are delicious. But
Speaker 1: as Sydney said to me, because when I first got
Speaker 1: into it, I wanted to happen right away. I wanted
Speaker 1: to quick. And after three weeks, I'm looking in the mirror, baby,
Speaker 1: and I'm naked. I said, Daddy, do you see a difference?
Speaker 1: He said, No, that wasn't what I was looking for.
Speaker 1: But what I understood was the moment he said yes,
Speaker 1: I knew that he really saw something different. So you know,
Speaker 1: when I say to the sisters, save your life, I'm
Speaker 1: not saying get a surgery. I'm not saying starve yourself.
Speaker 1: All I'm saying is save your life and be the
Speaker 1: healthiest that you can be. You have you used to
Speaker 1: do radio? Do you miss radio because you can get
Speaker 1: on the microphone every day and clear of any misconceptions.
Speaker 1: I miss it. I miss I miss my family. I
Speaker 1: miss you know, I miss my family. And I enjoy this,
Speaker 1: you know, because being behind this microphone, and I must say,
Speaker 1: you look really nice. Because I've done radio with some
Speaker 1: sisters and I'm like, listen, if they could see you,
Speaker 1: if they could see you, baby, they would they wouldn't
Speaker 1: want to listen to you anymore. Because did you even
Speaker 1: comb your hair? So? Yes? Because vote TV? So you
Speaker 1: know that's like that. It don't be like this at home. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I enjoy it. I've always enjoyed it absolutely. But
Speaker 1: we appreciate you joining us, right yeah, man, I mean
Speaker 1: you know what it was. You know, people they were saying,
Speaker 1: you're a difficult but I got told him, I've seen
Speaker 1: you before and you gave me one of the someone
Speaker 1: said to you, I was just tell me who them
Speaker 1: Vade like Bernie Max, say who is they? Because what
Speaker 1: happens is it goes back to the playground, and I've
Speaker 1: always been in a little girl in the playground, Monique.
Speaker 1: Somebody said, if you ain't gonna tell me who said it,
Speaker 1: then don't even bring it to me, because what it
Speaker 1: says is you're not courageous enough to say. What I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna do is is he says. She say, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be your friend, and I'm gonna say, listen, someone
Speaker 1: who this is their name? They said it? So maybe
Speaker 1: those two people can get together and clear it up.
Speaker 1: So if you're not gonna say who said it, then
Speaker 1: don't do it because we've grown absolutely I said that
Speaker 1: they're not okay. You've been get some more movies as
Speaker 1: well after Blackbirds. That's something that you're like, let me
Speaker 1: get some more opportunities if it makes sense. If it
Speaker 1: makes sense, yes, would you paid me one of the
Speaker 1: highest companies one time because I let you and your
Speaker 1: your home girl go out to the the elevator first and
Speaker 1: you said, thank your mama and your grandma for me.
Speaker 1: So when everybody, when people saying to me and said
Speaker 1: you was difficult, I was like, well she was nice
Speaker 1: to me. When I matter. You remember that you ain't
Speaker 1: doing me. I wouldn't nobody, don't, no, no, no, I'm
Speaker 1: saying you remember that, Yeah, right, so do I. And
Speaker 1: when you say I'm a nobody, you're everybody to me.
Speaker 1: You're somebody to me because you're saying go. His sisters say,
Speaker 1: I don't care about you. I don't care about nothing.
Speaker 1: You do what that set was your mama and your
Speaker 1: grandmama and your daddy. There were some folks to say,
Speaker 1: when you see some mother's sisters, you make sure you
Speaker 1: protect them enough to let them step on. I appreciated that. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: We gotta bring Lee Daniels only ask him about black Boss,
Speaker 1: black Boy. You know what this is trash. This is
Speaker 1: trash New York. That's why I love him. Trash ladies.
Speaker 1: Monique is the breakfast club Gamdi