Ms. Pat bets on herself, and humor, to win big

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Patricia Williams – stage name Ms. Pat – overcame early-life struggles to become a top comic with a national tour and Emmy-nominated TV show.

Ms. Pat rolled the dice on herself and became a successful comedian.

Ms. Pat – birth name Patricia Williams – has been doing comedy over 20 years, but life wasn’t the easiest. She dropped out of school in the eighth grade and had two children by the time she was 15 years old. To make ends meet she sold drugs and was a felon before age 21.

She puts it bluntly: “What got this all started was I was a convicted felon. No one would give me a job. So, it was either steal your TV or find me a career. My caseworker told me I was funny, so I went and did comedy. Here I am.”

Ms. Pat is coming to Knight Theatre on March 16 as a part of her “Ya Girl Done Made It” tour. Show time is 7 p.m.

“I am excited to come to Charlotte,” Ms. Pat said. “I cannot wait. It is going to be such an awesome time.”In 2021, BET launched “The Ms. Pat Show,” a sitcom that follows Ms. Pat’s fictional family. There are three seasons available for streaming with the second season earning its second Emmy nomination for outstanding directing in a comedy series.

“I always call the show the little project that nobody wanted,” Ms. Pat said. “The idea was tossed around for about five years, actually. A lot of people just don’t understand the voice that I had. It was something different. There were three writers I was working with and I landed on one. His name is Jordan Cooper. I don’t think a lot of people thought the show would last because it was the first sitcom that used that type of language. But, hey, people loved it and here we are going into our fourth season.”

In 2023, “Ms. Pat Settles It,” a courtroom program similar to “Judge Judy” and “Judge Joe Brown,” debuted. Instead of Ms. Pat acting as a literal judge, she settles everyday disputes in her charismatic and comedic style.

“The show idea came from an episode of the ‘Ms. Pat’ show actually,” she said. “My co-creator Jordan Cooper and I came up with this idea and went to BET with it. They said, ‘Well why don’t you do it?’ I told them I was a convicted felon. They told me, ‘So what? This is TV.’ I didn’t really think it would be that good, but people loved it and we are coming back for a second season of it.”

Ms. Pat said she never intended to be anyone’s role model, but now that she has a platform, she uses it to inspire people to be the best versions of themselves.

“A place where you can get the most out of your life is when you tap into your skills,” she said. “I truly believe that. I tell my kids all the time that it doesn’t matter where you start or how you start, it is about how you finish.”

Twenty-five years ago, Ms. Pat would have never envisioned where she is today.

“Here’s a young woman who dropped out of school, had two kids by the time she was 15, and went through a lot,” she said. “But here I am with two successful TV shows and much more on the horizon. People always tell me, ‘Wow, you’re such an inspiration.’ I never thought about being an inspiration – Lord knows I don’t want to be a Black pastor. But I do tell people to believe in themselves because no one will believe in you like you can believe in yourself.”

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