“I was cooking cocaine before I was cooking chicken, so I’ve never been interested in cooking food.”
So says four-time Emmy-nominated comedian and star of BET’s The Ms. Pat Show, Patricia Williams, more widely known by her stage name, Ms. Pat.
The Ms. Pat Show, with episodes that tackle everything from drug addiction and abortion to sexual abuse and dysfunctional family cycles, is based on Williams’ real-life experiences before her time in Hollywood.
“I used to steal,” she tells Orlando Weekly. “I had money way before this. I mean, the only difference now is the fans used to be the police. Now the fans are regular people.”
Williams, who credits her path to fame to “being honest,” says the show is so beloved because, in the seemingly bleak times many of us have been living in, people need to laugh.
“We did an episode on ICE, which was hilarious but real,” Williams says. “I did an episode on abortion. I did an episode on divorce. I did an episode on everything. I think that’s why people love the show, because they know Ms. Pat’s show is not gonna tackle it with an eraser. Whatever we write on that paper is gonna come to life.”
Williams, ironically known for her aversion to cooking, has also been cheffing it up in one of her most recent endeavors, a cooking web series on YouTube called Whiskin’ It All.
After having her first child at 14, Williams says learning to cook never caught her attention until she noticed a slew of new cooking shows popping up around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially intrigued by the idea of inviting others to her home to show her how to cook, Williams said Whiskin’ It All has become more about the conversations held with the award-winning chefs, friends and family members that she invites as guests on the show.
“It just feels like family members in the kitchen having a conversation, like a good old holiday: Fourth of July, Christmas,” Williams says. “So I think people really appreciate that.”
In her newly released second book, Ms. American Dream, she relays more about the start of her career, navigating through a comedy world that was largely white and male.
“I told a joke about me being a fish out of water in an all-white neighborhood,” Williams says. “I told it my way, and most times when people get sitcoms, the mama is cooking and taking care of the household. Well, no, the husband on my show is taking care of the household because I’m chasing a dream. And I just went in and I told that story, and they liked it. It was something different. You could have told me 20 years ago I was gonna be living like this legally? No, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
But if you ask Williams, she’ll tell you that her turn to fame hasn’t changed who she is at all, sharing that she’ll still go to TJ Maxx without a bra.
“There’s no change in me because I went to Hollywood,” Williams says. “I’m not out there trying to speak the correct English. I always show up as me and I think that’s what people appreciate about me. I mean, if I’m gonna cuss you out on TV, I’m gonna cuss you out in person. That’s just me.”
And as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Williams’ stand-up shows are known to attract many queer visitors in the audience. Referring to her daughter, who identifies as gay, she says most people who judge others for their sexuality do so because they have nothing going on in their own bedrooms.
“One thing about their community: They’ve been through hell with this country, probably with their family members. I’ve always been supportive of my child because I love my child, I’ve said it out loud many times. And I’ve talked about the mistakes I’ve made as a mama, the way I was raised, and I think I just said the quiet thing out loud,” she says. “And the community flocks to me and says, ‘Thank you for understanding, thank you for supporting your child,’ and I hope I get other parents to do the same for theirs.”
You can catch Williams this weekend at the Funny Bone, where she’ll be touring her latest stand-up show on Oct. 2-3, but be warned — her shows on Saturday are already sold out.
Various times Friday-Saturday, Oct. 2-3, Funny Bone Comedy Club, 9101 International Drive
orlando.funnybone.com, $37-$67.
Related Stories
Bernie Sanders to give cash boost to Angie Nixon campaign
Opera Orlando opens season with ‘Madame Butterfly’ at Steinmetz
Vamp flick ‘Nosferatu’ gets live music with Orlando classical players
This article appears in Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2026.
