FOLIO
Words by Johvan Merilus
From being a single mother in a tough Atlanta neighborhood to headlining her own comedy tour, “The Hot & Flashy” tour, Patricia Williams—better known by her stage name Ms. Pat—has built an impressive name for herself.
With sheer grit and determination, Ms. Pat has risen above the challenges of poverty and adversity. She showcases her talents across multiple platforms, including her hit BET show, The Ms. Pat Show, and her popular podcast, The Patdown with Ms. Pat. At her comedy shows, audiences can expect hilarious takes on her real-life moments of resilience, as she transforms her experiences into uniquely funny content that will have you laughing out of your seat.
Ms. Pat is scheduled to perform at The Comedy Zone from January 17 to January 19. Due to overwhelming demand and both Friday night shows—at 7:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.—selling out, an additional show has been added on Sunday. I had the honor of sitting down with Ms. Pat and catching up with her before she prepared to wow the city of Jacksonville.
Jovan: It’s great to hear from you. I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind. Nothing too crazy. Most of these questions are just to get to know you and just get insight on your journey as everything you’ve been doing throughout the industry.
Ms. Pat: Okay well let’s do it.
Johvan: “ The Ms. Pat Show” has been praised for its raw portrayal of your life. How has the reception of the show impacted you personally and professionally? Like, did you ever see it to be what it is now?
Ms. Pat: No I didn’t think it would go this far. I always say this is the fans show. You know it wasn’t supposed to make it out of the pilot stage, but it did.And the way it impacted me is now I have to put on makeup, I can’t go to the grocery store without my bra and my wig no more, so that’s a big impact for me it took my comfort zone out of it. It did change my bank account,so, you know, I don’t have to dream on Tiktok.I can buy a little bit more.
Johvan: Well that’s always a good thing and then you know, not only have you been a comedian, making your way,but you’ve also gained some opportunities with Netflix. Your Netflix special,“Y’all Wanna Hear Something Crazy?” combines humor with real life stories. Like what was the creative process behind developing that special? Specifically, how did you feel comfortable sharing personal experiences to the masses?
Ms. Pat: Company is no different than having a friend, especially a woman, a girlfriend. We tell our business to our closest friends anyway. The difference is you get a two drink minimum and you get paid now, instead of you and your friend laughing about it, everybody laughing about it,I’ve never had a closed door on my life. I’ve always been able to just say whatever, I’m not ashamed of nothing I been through so and once, you know, once I overcame the stuff that was in my life, I started to live for me. So my past don’t bother me. It don’t so I tell everything. I don’t own no secret. If I can remember it nine times out of 10, If I can make it funny, it’s going on stage.
Johvan: Have you ever come across wanting to tell a specific story,but not really being able to find how you’d like to communicate it with the audience?
Ms. Pat: Yeah, a lot of my stories are like that because they so deep and so dark. I used to tell a bit about being shot in the head, and nobody wanted to laugh, but mainly because I was a woman, and all I had to add to it was, well, I got shot in the head. It wasn’t my fault. I mean it was my fault. My baby daddy shot me in the head , but it was my fault because I ducked slow and people laughed at it.
Johvan: I’m so sorry [for laughing]
Ms. Pat: No, that means it’s funny. You know people should be able to take what they’ve been through in my life. It’s humor in everything, and when you can laugh about that, means you heal from the situation. I say this all the time. People write on my Facebook page “ Oh, you still hurt”. You don’t know me. I’m not hurting.
Ms. Pat: Amazon is on my way to the door with some packages. I’m smiling every day.
Johvan: With “ The Hot & Flashy” tour underway, how are you balancing the demands of touring with your ongoing television and podcasts projects? Like, what does your day to day look like?
Ms.Pat: Well, when I’m touring, I don’t, I mean, when I’m shooting the show, I did it for the last three, four years, but I’m 52 years old. I’m tired, so we’re going into our fifth season this year. I’m not going to tour. I’m gonna go home and take my fat black ass to bed every night, like a 52 year old going through menopause supposed to.
Johvan: You talk about you being 52 and seeing everything you’ve been doing lately how you’ve been trending in the world of comedy. You know you have your show on BET, and Netflix specials. Can you tell me when did you come to the realization that you not only made it, but that you can go somewhere in the comedic industry?
Ms. Pat: Well, I don’t really feel like I made it. I mean, because of me, I look at life like this, once you get comfortable, then there’s nothing to work towards. So to me, I’m still an open mic, so I’m grinding all the time. I mean, and to me, that keeps my engine going. Once you get all caught, oh, I can do this and I can do that, then you get lazy.
Ms.Pat: You know, I sold crack you could never get lazy.You either get shot or get locked up. So you always have to have your head on the swivel. So thank God this time my swivel is a white lady pal. She going to give me everything. So that’s why you see me all over the place.
Johvan: And you know, in talking about your show “The Ms. Pat Show” going on to season five, which, congratulations by the way.
Ms. Pat: Thank you.
Johvan: It’s been described as a groundbreaking sitcom, right in modern day times, currently, it’s hard to pull off a successful sitcom, especially one put on television that can reach five seasons. What went into the preparation of ensuring its success, and what messages or themes do you hope people resonate most with throughout the audience during your show?
Ms. Pat: Well,what into it was life, real life, I was able to capture people from all walks of life. You know, if you didn’t know a family like the Ms. Pat family, or you wasn’t a part of the Ms.Pat family, you knew a family like me, and I think the relatability of “ The Ms.Pat Show” is what kept it on, or is what’s keeping it on for so long.
Ms. Pat: What was the other question?
Johvan: The other question was, what have you guys done to prepare the show and not just only continuing it to be successful, but like have it evolve as time goes on? Like you never want season five to be like season one.
Ms. Pat: We live life, as you live, you have more to talk about, you know. So here I am living life again that I hope so many people be able to resonate with. That’s why we hit some of the strongest topics that regular network TV wants to talk about, which is middle aged women getting abortions and mom being a convicted felon.
Ms. Pat: You know how black people treat they gay kids. You know we walked over all of those topics. We didn’t just walk over, we wanted to eat. You cried with us and you understood us.We hope that in that situation, Pat or Terry or somebody learns something and even the audience at home. We do that every episode.
Johvan: Right, and then when it comes to your audience and just how you’ve been able to switch into different lanes,like from comedian to television actor, It’s also your podcast. Like your podcast “The Patdown with Ms. Pat” , you cover a wide range of topics,right? How do you choose the topics you want to discuss, and from the topics you discuss, what would say is your most memorable topic in which you felt like you really made an impact or was able to resonate with your audience?
Ms.Pat: For me personally it would probably be season one where I told my kids father off, and I, you know, I was able to let him know how I felt. Because I was never able to let him know in real life, when I was able to get all of that off on set, I think that people really felt that. It really touched people, even with season five, season four finale, you know that thing went viral because so many kids can understand. I have such a big gay community now because of the way black parents react to their gay kids, because society said you don’t supposed to be gay. Well they once said you weren’t supposed to smoke cigarettes and drink liquor either. So on this show I’m a gay parent that understands and so many people in that community, wish they had a parent that could understand, or a relative that just didn’t judge and just love. So I think those are my most groundbreaking moments to me with the show.
Johvan: Yeah, and you speak of being a gay parent, how have you seen your reactions to like you and your child’s relationship in terms of you being accepting, and not only accepting, but you incorporating that material into your own standup and promoting acceptance and love and care. How have you seen that reaction, and how have they played it?
Ms. Pat: Alot in the gay community. I mean they come out all the time. They drag their parents out and they drag their gay kids out just to get an understanding. Because, you know I’ve had people come up to me and say, my dad is here tonight and my mom is here tonight. They was actually able to laugh at what you said. Well all the time they wouldn’t even open their ears. So sitting there listening to me and saying,it’s okay, I told my daughter do what you do. Just don’t eat me.
Johvan: As someone whose had changes transitioning from stand up comedy to television and podcasting, to what challenges have you encountered and have you overcome them,especially that being of you being a woman of color, what have been some barriers you’ve had to tear down on your journey as you’ve continued to progress?
Ms. Pat: Oh, just let me be black and let me be me.
Ms. Pat: You know, people want to shape and form you in this business into what they want you to be. I have a GED. I don’t have time to pronounce the words correctly. Just let me be me and be funny. I’m a comedian, so a lot of times, you know, people are taken aback to some of the things I say, or how I have the situation. Nobody’s famous for me. Everybody’s in my head shoplifts at Walmart. So I put everybody on the same level when I walk into a room of whatever sex. So I just, you know, that’s one of the challenges I had to overcome. Just let me be me. I can’t be that. So you go, find somebody who gonna be that, because I’ll be Ms. Pat.
Johvan: Talking about you being you and just keeping it authentic and real throughout everything. What advice would you give to aspiring comedians, especially those who come from challenging backgrounds such as yourself?
Ms.Pat: I tell everybody, just don’t stop whatever you believe you ain’t nobody gonna believe in you like you believe in your damn self. So just don’t stop whatever you want to do. I don’t give a crap if you want to be a jump rope king. Get out there and jump rope everyday until you can do things that other people can’t do with the jump rope. So that’s what I tell everybody. That’s what you want to do. Don’t listen to nobody go do it.
Johvan: In keeping your authenticity how do you maintain that throughout your storytelling, when you’re coming across different platforms, from standup stages to scripted television?
Ms.Pat: I don’t change. This is my life. This is my story. This is how I tell my comedy. I’m the same all the way around. Richard Pryor didn’t change and Bill Cosby didn’t change. When you change you then form into something else. You let them dictate what you do. I’m the star or I’m the person you came to see. So why am I gonna do what you want me to do? You came to see what I do.
Johvan: Yeah,no, I understand that. How has your family responded to the portrayal of your life in “The Ms. Pat Show”, and have they influenced any story lines?
Ms.Pat: They influence all the storylines. They love it. I mean, I mean everyone of my kids in my real life is, you know, act out on that stage each and every time we get a new season, they love it, and they don’t complain, and if they do, I don’t care.
Johvan: What has been the most rewarding aspect of connecting with audiences through your various platforms, like, what’s something you take with you?
Ms. Pat: I mean to see the show shot live, is you gotta see, you have to see the show shot live. It’s like my co-creator always says, like a backyard revival. And just to see, you know, when the audience is there, and they cry with us,they’re laughing with us, and they’re yelling with us, you know they really into it.
Johvan: Looking ahead, how do you envision the next chapter of your career unfolding? Are there any new ventures?
Ms.Pat: I’m hoping one day with a DIY show. You know, I have a court show called “Ms.Pat Settles It”. I’m just hoping to continue to create, continue to tour, continue to make specials. Those are the things I want to do and just enjoy my family.
Johvan: That’s amazing and we were actually able to get through all the questions. Thank you so much for this opportunity to interview you. It was truly an honor.
Ms. Pat: Thank you. You have a blessed day.
Johvan: You too. Thank you
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