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Tavis: Mo'nique is a talented comedienne and actress who plays the irrepressible--I think that's a good word...the irrepressible Nikki Parker on the UPN series 'The Parkers.' She's also the host of one of the most enduring talent showcases on television. Here's a clip from 'Showtime at the Apollo.'

Mo'Nique: You gotta know, like, whenever you get in a fight and you know you're gonna get your ass whup, you know you can't beat that person. All during school, you talk trash. When 3:00 come, you be, like, "OK, God. She's really ugly. She's gonna try and hit me in my face." Don't fight nobody ugly, baby, 'cause they goin' for this. Fight 'em like this: Git! Git!

Tavis: Hey, Mo'nique.

Mo'Nique: Hey, Tavis.

Tavis: How are you?

Mo'Nique: I'm wonderful.

Tavis: You look wonderful.

Mo'Nique: Thank you, baby. I gotta show you this trick.

Tavis: OK, show me your trick.

Mo'Nique: You ready?

Tavis: Show me. I'm ready.

Mo'Nique: Bam. Ow.

Tavis: No, you didn't. You crossed your legs.

Mo'Nique: Talk about it. Yes, indeed.

Tavis: How many years?

Mo'Nique: 17.

Tavis: 17?

Mo'Nique: I don't even know how they feel on each other. I'm a little nervous 'cause this one's a little heavy. But I'm sittin' like this until I can't.

Tavis: How's it feel to cross your legs after 17 years?

Mo'Nique: It's almost like I can hear for the first time 'cause--OK. One day, 'cause I go walking with my sister friend. Every day we do 15 miles.

Tavis: Right. 15?

Mo'Nique: Not on purpose, but by mistake. We just kept on doing it. And after about a month, I was talking to somebody, and I said, girl, stop tripping. I said--oh! Oh! Oh! It fits. OK, now I'm gonna have to start doing both of 'em. Bam.

Tavis: Look at you.

Mo'Nique: Like I'm a Rockette.

Tavis: I can see that.

Mo'Nique: So I do. Yes. So now that I showed you that, they a little tired right now. I'm gonna put 'em back together.

Tavis: I'm cracking up because the last time I saw you, at least on camera somewhere--actually it was on the radio show, on my NPR show. You'd written a book, "Skinny Women Are Evil."

Mo'Nique: And they still are.

Tavis: They still are. I love that--"Skinny Women Are Evil."

Mo'Nique: Yes. And I think you can ask me that because I can cross my legs now.

Tavis: Now you getting skinnier. So, are you about to become evil?

Mo'Nique: No. No, I'm not getting skinnier. I'm just toning it up. It makes a difference. There you go.

Tavis: I gotcha. OK.

Mo'Nique: See, this is still a thigh. You ain't never seen this kind of thigh. Go on, touch it. 'cause you feel like--aah! I made you jump a little bit. There you go. That's still a thigh, baby. Don't be fooled.

Tavis: So, you're not gonna get too skinny?

Mo'Nique: No, indeed. I just wanna do this 'cause it's real sexy.

Tavis: You look good doing this. Do that one more time. The other way. Other way.

Mo'Nique: It don't work all the time. OK. Wait a minute 'cause I gotta turn myself in the chair. Bam.

Tavis: I like that.

Mo'Nique: It's how I put myself in a chair that do it. It gives you that.

Tavis: How is it--how is it that you have been--and I say this with all respect--there are a lot of sisters around, a lot of big sisters, but you broke out the pack. I've seen a lot of folk who have your image, who try to do the stand-up thing, and it didn't work. But you've taken this thing to like a whole other level. People love you.

Mo'Nique: And I love people. Yeah. You know why, though? Because for so long, we've been taught that big girls can't be. We can't be sexy, and we can't be glamorous and gorgeous. We've been trained that we can't do that. So, when Mo'nique came and God said, "I need you to change it. I need to use you as a vessel and change it..." I know that I'm beautiful. So because I know it, you can't help but to think it. When I walk in a room, I know you go, "Damn." There it is. Right. Oh, Tavis, don't do it, 'cause you know. Mm-hmm. In a minute. But I know that. So when people say, "How did you do that?" I don't take any of the credit. You know, I just say thank God for using me for the vessel.

Tavis: But how did you get started, though? I love this story. Your brother, wasn't it, that dared you? Tell the story of how you got started.

Mo'Nique: Well, you know Steve.

Tavis: I know Steve.

Mo'Nique: Steve's my manager. Has been now for 17 years.

Tavis: Probably on the phone somewhere making deals.

Mo'Nique: Making deals. Yes, indeed. You better know it! Yes. Handle it. But he tried to be a comedian and was horrible. So I teased him. I said, "Boy, I can't believe you embarrassed us like that. If I was on stage, I would have said..." and I did 30 minutes of jokes. He said, "I dare you to go on next Wednesday and do open-mike night." and I did. And I got a standing ovation.

Tavis: And you killed first time out.

Mo'Nique: Yeah. 'Cause I just talked, just like I'm talking to you. I talk like that on stage. But I cuss 'cause I like it. I like to cuss. I like it. I'm not going to because I know you guys would be like, "Mo'nique, please, don't do that."

Tavis: My mama is watching.

Mo'Nique: And I love her.

Tavis: I love her, too.

Mo'Nique: How you doing, Mrs. Smiley? You know what I'm thinking, though, right? Right, right, right, right! That makes a difference.

Tavis: Speaking of your first time out, you killed the first time out. Have you ever bombed, though?

Mo'Nique: You know what? I've never bombed in a sense of getting booed. I've bombed in a sense of silence. Because I did a show at a nightclub. Now, I'm thinking nightclub, liquor, these people are gonna get into it, but it was nightclub, liquor, and they went to church. Well, why would you bring church people into the nightclub with the liquor? So I'm up there just doing it, Tavis. Yes, yes. There were 2 drunk ladies in the corner, and they was my team, my support team. "That's right, baby. That's right. We're with you." But the church ladies was, "Jesus, what's wrong?" so that was one night. I said, "But they at the nightclub." So I didn't make any apologies.

Tavis: It happens every Saturday night, though. The church people are at the club on Saturday.

Mo'Nique: And Sunday morning. They go straight from there and go to church. Yeah, we know how it really works. And then they pay 10% and say, "Oh, please forgive me." Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Tavis: Tell me, though, what it's like--so you obviously have done extremely well with the comedy, but you've also had your experience not with bombing but with silence. But it seems to me that doing that Apollo thing is something totally different. If I were doing anything with regard to like real talent, I think I would be afraid to step onstage at the Apollo. 'Cause if you don't come correct at the Apollo, that audience, they don't play that.

Mo'Nique: You know what I think makes the difference with me hosting? I totally understand without that audience, Mo'nique can't exist. So, before you even see when it comes up on the air, we have a conversation. We're talking like, "Baby, you're all in this with me." You know, if my makeup is running, "Cut!" let me know. If my hair's out of order, "Cut." So that audience is totally a part of me and I a part of the audience. I don't take the credit for making that show a success in these last 2 seasons. It's because of that audience, and they give you that spirit and that strength. They're like, "Sister, we're with you, because it's the first time in history that a black woman's ever hosted the show. So trust we're not gonna let you go out looking raw." So, it's that kind of success story.

Tavis: You ever feel bad, though, for some of the folk who just get their stuff handed to them?

Mo'Nique: No, I don't. I don't. I tell 'em, "Listen--"

Tavis: I mean, that stuff, that 'American Idol' stuff is cute, but they ain't got nothing on the Apollo.

Mo'Nique: Because the Apollo is real. And I tell the audience, "Listen, if they're not good, don't waste time, get their asses out of here. If they sing a Jesus song, don't get nervous. Jesus knows they can't sing. And he's mad that you're taking up too much time. Let's get 'em out of here." Because when I first started, you know, they said, "Mo'nique, you know, you cannot--you can't show any emotion. You're the host." I said, "No, you're grouping me with all the other hosts. I'm Mo'nique." And yes, if they can't sing, I need to say, "Come on. Why? What we doing here? We need to get 'em off." And if they can sing--there was a young lady one night, Tavis, who was an opera singer--19 years old-- and was incredible. And when I tell you it was angelic, that my eyes filled up, because you knew it was such a gift from God. But because it was different, they didn't understand it and they booed her. And I cut the tape. I said we will not let America see that we're ignorant because it's different. Just because it's different doesn't mean it's wrong. Listen to it. How many black opera singers do you know? I can only name 2, to my ignorance. That sister won that night. I had to stop tape and I had to educate them. That's why that show, when you turn it on, it's a big party. Because, for real, I'm their big sister saying, "don't you do that. You know better. Mama didn't teach us that."

Tavis: Spank me again. Do that again.

Mo'Nique: You like that. Mm-hmm. Give it back to me, 'cause I need to--thank you. Mmm-hmm.

Tavis: I know what makes the "Showtime at the Apollo" show work, given your explanation. What makes "The Parkers" work so well? 'Cause y'all still hittin' it over there.

Mo'Nique: You know what makes "The Parkers" work so well? For every show for the last 5 years, 110 shows, we say, "God, thank you, and however you want us to rock with this, take us out on that stage." That's what makes "The Parkers" work.

Tavis: Give me that line one time: "Professor Oglevee!"

Mo'Nique: Hey, Professor Oglevee!

Tavis: That's what I like. Ha ha ha ha! I like that. You have an organization--Sister, Stop.

Mo'Nique: Sister, Stop.

Tavis: I could take that a thousand places...but I'm not gonna go there.

Mo'Nique: I want you to. 'Cause everything you say, I can say, "Sister, Stop."

Tavis: Tell me why you named your organization Sister, Stop.

Mo'Nique: My sister friend and I, Tasha Barnes, we walk every day, and most days we walk 15 miles a day.

Tavis: By accident. Not on purpose.

Mo'Nique: Yeah. By mistake but on purpose. And we just started walking and we started getting a healing that I wasn't expecting. I was telling her about some issues and what I was going through and things that just did not make sense, and she said, "Sister, Stop. What you saying to me? Why do you send yourself through this unnecessary pain?" And as we continued to walk and we let God deal with us for real, now we wanna share that. So our first event is February 8th at my house for the Women of Crystal Stairs. Because sometimes you have women that feel like: because I'm on welfare, because I have 6 kids and because I don't have a man, there's no hope, because we've been conditioned to believe that. But I'm here to say, sister, I was on welfare with no man, and I had a 1-year-old son, and my car payment was 3 months behind, but if you're real determined and you believe, guess what. The next party we'll host at your house.

Tavis: I don't know how you do this. You got this comedy thing down, but there's a consciousness to your life as well, and you make both of them work together.

Mo'Nique: I don't. See, I don't. See, I know you understand, because it's not us. We're not that special that people want to watch us. So we have to know that God used us and said, "OK, Tavis, I'm gonna sit you in that chair and I'm gonna sit you in this chair, and as long as you never take the credit, I'm gonna keep you going."

Tavis: I got 30 seconds to go. I hear, speaking of sitting in chairs, that there's a rumor around town that you may be sitting in a chair like this doing your own talk show.

Mo'Nique: Yes.

Tavis: Don't come to PBS. I don't need no competition. Go over there somewhere. Don't come nowhere over here, OK? Just stay over there.

Mo'Nique: Tavis, I couldn't compete with you, brother.

Tavis: Ooh...

Mo'Nique: I love you.

Tavis: Nice to see you.

Mo'Nique: Thank you, baby. One last shot.

Tavis: Jonathan, right here. One more time. There you go. There you go. I like that.

Mo'Nique: Let's go out right on that. You don't even gotta say good-bye, Tavis. Just let 'em go on down on that...as I look away.

Tavis: Yeah. Thank you all for watching. I'll catch you on NPR tomorrow on the next episode of PBS. I'll see you back here. Thanks for watching. Keep the faith. Jonathan, one more time. One more time. There you go.