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PEOPLE OF NOTE: Mo’Nique: Bountiful Ladies Have a F.A.T. Chance On Oxygen
Some viewers will get a big gulp of oxygen, the Oxygen Network that is, when they tune into the second season of Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance. A special airing premieres July 2006. Recently the network traveled to Miami, Baltimore, Seattle, and Los Angeles as part of a national casting call in search of contestants for the show.
The last casting call was held in New York at the Roseland Ballroom, where 10 bountiful, curvaceous, and voluptuous women gained the chance to appear on Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance, a program that enables the big and the beautiful to vie for the title of Miss “F.A.T. (Fabulous and Thick) Chance.”
The eligibility requirements were that contestants be 21 years or older, size 14 and upwards, a citizen of the United States, and be in excellent physical and mental health. The winner wins a $50,000.00 cash prize. Following the multi-city casting call, the women who are selected are flown to Los Angeles where the final ten competitors will participate in an enhanced version of “Beauty Boot Camp,” a series of mind and body training exercises that focus on enhancing beauty and building confidence. The contestants will live together in Los Angeles where they will be mentored by a life coach and eventually be judged by a panel of experts and celebrity judges who will evaluate them on poise, personality, beauty, and style.
“Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance is a fat girls chance to shine,” claims Mo’Nique. “It is a beauty pageant for big girls. It’s our Miss America. It’s our Miss World. The difference between Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance and any other beauty pageant or reality show is that it’s filled with love. However, there can only be one winner. It’s not really a competition; the women, work together for the greater cause developing friendships that last a lifetime. Fat girls know the struggle of being a fat girl in this society. They have experienced the painful things that are said to us and about us, so when we all come together we don’t want to put more pain on one another,” remarked the glamorous star. “My show is about loving one another and building up each other’s confidence. It’s about saying it’s OK to be me even if I am fat. There is a difference between being obese and fat and being healthy and unhealthy. Some people say how can you encourage women to be fat? I am not encouraging anyone to be fat. I’m only saying love the body you’re in. Exercise! Do something each day for yourself to makes yourself feel good,” explained the charming comedienne whose career began on a dare from her brother.
Mo’Nique’s first TV break was as Nikki Parker on The Parkers, which ran 5 years on the UPN network and is now in syndication. She won several awards, including four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. “The Parkers was my introduction to Hollywood. Larry Little saw a comedy tape of mine and said if I could act, I could get my own show which turned out to be The Parkers,” recalled Mo’Nique. Her film roles include: “Domino,” “Shadowboxer,” ( to be released May 2006),“Irish Jam”,” Soul Plane”, “Three Strikes,” “Baby Boy,” “Two Can Play That Game,” “Hair Show,” “Phat Girls” (Due in theaters April 7, 2006) and Showtime’s “Good Fences.” She was in “The “Queens of Comedy,” which aired on Showtime Network, toured the country as a live comedy concert and spawned an album under the same title, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album.
“Marilyn Monroe wore size 14 and many of the stars of yesteryear wore a size 12. These days, Hollywood is promoting size ‘0’. The question is then -- who got around the board table and decided that women must be a size ‘0’ and that size 14 is no longer beautiful,” remarked the big and beautiful Mo’Nique. “I am not sure what image Hollywood is trying to sell. I’m just not willing to buy what they are selling. The media runs the world. Hollywood and the fashion world set the standard for what you wear, what you smell like and even what you think.” said Mo’Nique, the F.A.T. Chance host, creator, and executive producer. Mo’Nique originally shopped her TV concept to the various networks. They were uninterested. However, network cable saw its potential. As a cable network owned and operated by women, Oxygen realized most American women are not a size ‘0’. In fact, Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance was the highest rated original program in the network’s history. The show pulled in 3.8 million viewers when it originally premiered.
Statistically speaking, 60% of American women are not size “0.’ Therefore, it seems business entities are ignoring the general public while promoting a greedy and negative campaign of exaggerated weight loss and self hatred that has resulted in disorders like anorexia and bulimia. These campaigns are designed to encourage women to strive for the unattainable. Some die, trying. “Not only fat women watch F.A.T. Chance, non-fat people watch it too” said the voluptuous host of Showtime at the Apollo.
“After Steve Harvey left “Showtime At The Apollo,” I approached the Suttons, but they felt a woman couldn’t host the show. Once Suzanne dePasse became executive producer she offered me the host spot. So, I guess it was meant to be,” said the author of “Skinny Women Are Evil.”
“Skinny Women Are Evil because they’re hungry,” chuckled Mo’Nique about her book. “My book is the fat girl’s bible and a skinny woman’s warning. My book says feel good in your own skin,” said the size 20, entertainer, and recent mother of 5 month old twins.
Mo’Nique is a busy lady these days. “I live by my own rules. I’m going to ride my bus until the wheels fall off. I’ve no regrets and make no apologies for being Mo’Nique,” stated the confident performer.
For info on Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance see http://www.1monique.com/
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