“I felt like I had something to say,” Mo’Nique told Shadow and Act in a recent interview when speaking about the Netflix project. “And I feel like what I have to say may possibly make a difference. It may possibly make you look at things a different way. It may possibly make you be free. It may possibly make you a better mother, a better wife, a better friend.”

For her, the emotions going into My Name Is Mo’Nique, were plain and simple: liberation.

“The emotions for me and my husband was for us to give a freedom that oftentimes is not given, especially as a Black woman,” she explained.

She continued, “You’re not given that freedom to speak freely and loudly without being labeled entitled and knocked down and dragged and all those things. So I’m hoping [that] if you gotta say it, you’ll say it unapologetically, loudly and proudly.”

While most may think the new project is a new chapter, Mo’Nique is open to letting others define what that looks like because she is intentional about not letting her ego get the best of her.

“What I would like to think of myself is I’m just love, and sometimes love can be painful, but it’s always from a place of truth and honesty and hoping that things get better,” she shared. “I’ve always been a person of love. I’ve not always been a person of maturity. I’ve always been a person of consideration, but I’ve not always been a person of being able to communicate my feelings properly.”

Today, Mo’Nique is just happy to be sharing her own personal journey through life with the hopes of having an impact on anyone who can relate.

“Who Mo’Nique is now is a 55-year-old woman proudly sitting in her womanhood,” she shared. “And understanding what it is now to be a woman, understanding what it is to be a Black man’s wife because it takes a lot to sit in that position,” Mo’Nique continued. “It’s also understanding what it is to be a present mother, a present grandmother, understanding my priorities. So to say who Mo’Nique is so many things, but it’s all wrapped up into Mo’Nique grew up.”

My Name Is Mo’Nique is now available for streaming on Netflix.