By Peter Lindblad
Ms. Pat’s husband is getting on the comedienne’s last nerve, piling up a garage full of gadgets and tools that’ll probably never even get unpacked.
He did get her two pocketbooks for Christmas, though.
“He probably just wants to stay married,” said Ms. Pat, chuckling to herself.
Recently, the hilarious Ms. Pat, who will perform Jan. 16-17 at Madison’s Comedy on State and Feb. 6-7 at Appleton’s Skyline Comedy Club (find show and ticket info here www.MsPatComedy.com), posted online about how she took some of it back to the store and got $1,000 for it. The reel said, “When are men going to stop buying sh*t they cannot use?”
Among the related comments was a common sentiment, with statements saying something to the effect of, “Oh my God, I understand. My husband does the same thing.”
The rant didn’t stop there. She was just getting warmed up.
“And I’m like, the older they get, the more Home Depot becomes a playground,” said Ms. Pat. “And you want to hear something crazy? I walked outside today. I’m not exaggerating. I’m going to post it. My husband bought a concrete cleaner. My husband ain’t never dealt with concrete in his life. He ain’t never cleaned no concrete. I have a whole street sweeper in my garage. And I said, ‘Whose tool is it?’ ‘Oh, I bought that.’ ‘For what? You don’t even know how to use it. You don’t even mop the floor. How the hell are you going to clean the concrete?’”
And that’s not all.
“I mean, [he] has literally had three lawnmowers,” said Ms. Pat. “He literally told me he needed a lightweight lawnmower. And I’m like, ‘Why? You fat. Nothing you get on is going to be lightweight.’ How does a fat person ask for a lightweight lawnmower? That’s impossible.
“I told him, I said, ‘If you paid that much attention to me as you do Home Depot, I’d probably be a happier person,’” she continued, laughing. “’Play with me like you play with Home Depot.’ I guess he’d say, ‘There’s too many things broken on you. At least at Home Depot, it’s something new.’”
Long ago, Ms. Pat threw away the filter that might cause her to hesitate about being so open about what goes on in her family. And her legion of loyal fans appreciates her raw comic honesty.
Not only does she sell out stand-up shows all over the country, but they also almost crashed the BET+ plus when her popular cussing sitcom “The Ms. Pat Show” premiered, due to the deluge of downloads it generated. Produced by Lee Daniels and Brian Grazer, the show has received three Emmy nominations, including one in 2024. Season five just hit the streets and it promises to be a wild ride, and here’s the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDS2LHLNiv4
“Let me tell you something: If they don’t give us a season six, I want everybody to raise hell because this is a hell of a season,” said Ms. Pat, whose real name is Patricia Williams. “I mean, when I tell you it might be three endings in one episode, it’s going to knock people off their feet.”
There are some surprises baked into season five, including dinner at her home with the President. Whatever the scenario, viewers should expect to be put through the ringer.
“It is funny. It’s emotional. It’s loving. It’s caring. It’s everything,” said Ms. Pat. “Every emotion you got in your body will be used over season five. It’s almost, I mean, from the laughter to the stress we’re going to cause in your life, people are going to walk away with their stomach hurting and their head hurting, but they’re going to also feel happy. It’s a hell of a season. Yeah, I mean, every season’s been a hell of a season so far.”
Based on her real life, and her comedy, the show pulls stories and details from Ms. Pat’s family. She’s an aspiring comedian trying to adjust to suburban life in Indiana, having overcome a rough start in life, including child sexual abuse, poverty and family dysfunction, teenage motherhood and felony convictions for drug dealing in inner city Atlanta – all things she’s really experienced.
It was created by Jordan E. Cooper and Ms. Pat, who admits she’s come a long way as an actress.
“Child, I was just saying lines the first two seasons,” said Ms. Pat. “I was just waiting on the people to counsel me, and they didn’t even care I couldn’t act, but they stuck with me.”
Improving by leaps and bounds, she’s even taken her acting to the silver screen, as she costarred in a recent remake of “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” with June Squibb and Nicole Ritchie.
Naturally funny and a charismatic force of nature, Ms. Pat has a lot on her plate, including her podcast “The Patdown” and a new YouTube cooking show called “Whisking It All.” And then there’s “Ms. Pat Settles It,” a court show like “Judge Judy” and “Judge Joe Brown” with crazy cases, a jury of quick-witted, comedic characters, and Ms. Pat on the bench, dispensing hard-won wisdom. It just wrapped up its third season on BET. Get a taste of the new season here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOr-8dUiKXo
It’s no different, she says, from the unpredictably funny meet-and-greet interactions she often has with fans after her stand-up comedy shows.
“Yeah, you know, a lot of the foolishness we have to cut out for TV, but it gets a little crazy now sometimes,” said Ms. Pat. “Sometimes I be asking, I say, ‘Where y’all bring me crazy people to find me?’ You know, since this is a courtroom where everybody wants to go now, and it’s like my meet-and-greet … everybody wants to be on it … I always say it’s a courtroom where black people can come and be safe.”
In addition to deciding money judgements, Ms. Pat also doles out life advice. It’s no so different from her role as a mother.
“It’s pretty much being a relative and mom to people that I don’t know,” said Ms. Pat.
This season, two of her kids showed up on “Ms. Pat Settles” with a case. Ms. Pat was taken aback when they walked into her courtroom.
“I had no idea they were going to be on there,” said Ms. Pat. “And they actually had that incident with each other for real. And they had been going on for about a year, and they had been arguing about the money. I guess they told the producer, and the producer threw them on. And I was blown away. It was crazy, because I’m like, both of you guys owe me money. Yeah. It was crazy.”
When she comes to Wisconsin, Ms. Pat will be working out material for her next special. Her first was called “Y’all Wanna Hear Something Crazy?” It was produced by Wanda Sykes and directed by Robert Townsend. The experience of preparing for and recording that initial special was enlightening, and she’s learning all about the business side of it, too.
“I’m glad I’m taking more time,” said Ms. Pat. “I’ve been here for about two and a half years working on it. So, you know, I’ve reworked it and worked it. And the first time I didn’t really have a chance to do that. And this time I’m shooting it out of my own pocket so I can promote it the way I want to promote it. And I just think that it’s a way to showcase me without being in any big company, without begging anybody to pick up my special.”
Ms. Pat enjoys her trips to Wisconsin, a place that identifies with.
“Well, I mean, I like Wisconsin,” said Ms. Pat. “I like the food. I like the vibe. I like the people. So, I haven’t been there in a while – I think about a year or so. So, I’m looking forward to it. I mean, they get to see me before I shoot my next special. So, you know, they gonna let me know what worked and what don’t work.”
Known as a consummate storyteller, like Richard Pryor, Ms. Pat’s life is an open book. She’s shared all her trials and tribulations, transforming even the darkest parts of her story into riotous comedy, with plenty of cussing. This time around, she’s going to be riffing on stuff everybody can relate to.
“Um, just talking about family, life, you know, things that I go through,” said Ms. Pat. “You know, the crazy stuff we all go through. So that’s just basically, mainly, being married. You know, just life, life. And that’s the thing. I don’t really write a joke. I just take life situations and then I just turn them into comedy. And people really relate to that.”
Her fans aren’t afraid to share with her what they’re going through either.
“You know what? For some reason, I’m some kin to everybody,” said Ms. Pat. “I’m a person that grew up with no family, but I have inherited a hell of a lot of people in my family. Yeah, that’s true.”
Everybody’s a cousin, and they’re enabling her addiction to comedy. There’s no rehabilitating her.
“You know, it’s nothing like living, and doing what you want to do. And comedy is something that I want to do. I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy meeting people. I enjoy relating to people,” said Ms. Pat.
She might even give her spouse a break.
