Mo’Nique is back on the small screen! On Feb. 3, the 55-year-old Oscar winner made her highly anticipated debut as Atlanta strip-club owner Goldie on episode five, titled “Moment of Truth,” of “BMF” season two. Though Goldie only appears in a few minutes of the episode, it’s clear she means business, and she’s not taking any nonsense from anyone — especially Leon.
“When Goldie shows up, either two things is going to happen: something really good will happen or something really not so good will happen,” Mo’Nique tells POPSUGAR. According to Starz, Goldie ends up forming an alliance with Demetrius “Big Meech” (Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr.) and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi), helping fuel their migration from Detroit to Atlanta. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, considering their first interaction wasn’t exactly the best.
But despite her character’s tough persona, Mo’Nique says Goldie’s actions come from a place of love. “She truly is love. She truly is in her community trying to make a difference. Everybody may not agree with how she makes the difference, but she genuinely loves her community,” she explains. “When you see the dynamics of this character, you almost say, ‘Am I wrong for digging this character?’ Because morally, I’ve been told this. But when I get to know this person and I see really what they’re about, am I beginning to love what’s supposed to be the villain?”
Mo’Nique got involved with the Starz series after executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson launched a public campaign to get the actor “back on top” after years of being allegedly “blackballed” in Hollywood. “Curtis came to a show that I had in LA, a stand-up-comedy show. And about three weeks later, he began to post these posts on his page, and they were so beautiful and so sweet,” Mo’Nique says. “And I reached out to him, and he called. And he said, ‘Hey, Mo. Love your work. I want to get down with you. Let’s do this.’ And that was pretty much what it was.”
Though Mo’Nique didn’t meet the cast until the first day of filming, she instantly felt a personal connection to Goldie upon reading the script. “I know Goldie. I know that character. I know that character from some of the communities, the neighborhoods. So when you’ve dealt with that character pretty much your [whole] life, you know her,” she explains. “And then you take bits and pieces from the people that you knew in the community, and you form this character. But my Aunt Vera, who’s no longer with us, but my Aunt Vera, baby, when I tell you, she was every bit of Goldie, because she was really beloved in her community. And some of the things she did, people may have said, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ But everybody loved Ms. Vera. So I would have to say in honor of my Aunt Vera, I pulled some of Goldie from her.”
Once Mo’Nique finally met Da’Vinchi and Flenory Jr., she says it was “an honor to walk on that set . . . and watch them do their thing.” She also praises Russell Hornsby and Michole Briana White, who play the Flenory brothers’ parents, for being the “glue to ‘BMF.'” Mo’Nique adds, “You see the drug-dealing world, you see that world, but it’s not too often you see the world of two parents, a two-parent home that is fighting for their kids not to go that route . . . So I think that ‘BMF’ really digs into just how destructive the plan was to go into our communities and rip them apart.”
“BMF” was officially renewed for a third season on Jan. 18. As of now, no details regarding the show’s plot or cast have been announced, but when we asked Mo’Nique if she’d be down to return, she teased, “We’re going to just wait and see.”
“BMF” season two airs Fridays on Hulu and Starz.