In xoNecole's Finding Balance, we profile boss women making boss moves in the world and in their respective industries. We talk to them about their business, and most of all, what they do to find balance in their busy lives.
Any time we can see ourselves on TV, holding court, taking up space, and being our most beautiful authentic selves while doing so, it's always a good look. And it's more than just magic. For Monica McNutt, it's also a mix of hard work, determination, experience, and training. The University of Maryland and Georgetown University graduate was a shooting guard who decided she wanted to lend her voice to perspectives behind the scenes in sports through broadcast. She started out covering the Olympics during the summer of 2021, and she'd move on to work with Fox Sports 1, CBS Sports Network, Turner/NBA TV, and NBC’s family of networks. She was also a game analyst for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.
Now, at 33, she's a basketball analyst, reporter, and host for ESPN and MSG Networks, and co-hosts the SALA Series podcast. Below, she talks more about how she manages her career while flourishing in love, the power of taking out time to do absolutely nothing, and why she's always going to offer a dose of PG County, Maryland charm wherever she goes.
Steven Ferdman / Getty Imageas
xoNecole: What motivates you to come into the studio every day?
Monica McNutt: I love my job. Basketball has opened so many doors for me and brought me so many great opportunities. The opportunity to have conversations about the best players in the world with some of the best sports broadcasters in the world---my feet hit the ground in terms of gratitude. Pursuing a passion as a full-time career? How dare I walk into the office with an attitude?
What inspired you to get into broadcast journalism?
When I finished playing ball at Georgetown, I was like, 'Okay, I'm probably not going into the WNBA.' So how can I stay connected to sports and basketball, which meant so much to me? At that time, I remember thinking, 'The media has no idea about all that goes into it.' So, I wanted to continue to tell the stories of athletes like myself. As I started to make my way through my career, I realized that it was particularly important to me to keep a foot in women's basketball, to celebrate that aspect of the game, and to fight for equality in that space.
I thought a bit more and was like, 'Wait, the only time I see women is as hosts and reporters. I don't see them giving opinions so much, which is why Jemele Hill was so huge in terms of me trying to find my footing and what I wanted to do in the space. I've got something to say. I want to say it, too and set an example for the women coming behind me and the people of color coming behind me.
I don't know that I would have been comfortable in the opinion space when I came out of school. In fact, I remember thinking, 'I want to be a reporter. I want to do the work and I want to tell the stories.' But, I think, as our climate has changed and the way we consume media, I see the importance of having a voice and the power in setting an example.
Bryan Bedder / Getty Images
What's an average day look like for you?
There's no typical, average, or consistent day! Ha! It doesn't exist. It's just very hit-or-miss depending on what I'm up to on any given day. I could be traveling to an NBA game as a reporter or heading to the Knicks game as an analyst. I could be doing a full day of studio shows. There's not really a ton of rhyme or reason when it comes to my day-to-day [schedule.] The only [routine] thing I try to be mindful to create for myself is at least one day off a week--- completely off.
I'm very mindful of that self-care time, which is a dope bath, with Epsom salts, candles, music. The nature of the beast is keeping up---whether it's a game broadcast or a studio broadcast or the podcast. It's important to take that time to recharge.
What other things do you do to maintain physical and mental wellness?
I go to the gym regularly. I travel with gym clothes, and even if I [only] have 20 minutes, I'm going to get that 20 minutes to get some sweat in. As I've gotten older, I start to feel wired and almost anxious. Working out is hugely important to me. I'm into my nails and I paint them at home and it's a thing I used to do with my grandmother. It's a small thing but it's my thing.
My intimate circle is hugely important to me. I kind of argue with them sometimes as to whether I'm an introvert. I don't know! I just draw a lot of energy from solo time. The nature of my career path is to have on the 'on' switch. I don't know if people realize the energy that requires, so when I get to spend time with my man or my friends and do nothing, I relish the opportunity to do nothing. When my time is free, I'm doing nothing, on purpose.
Courtesy of Monica McNutt
You mentioned your man. How do you balance your busy schedule with making time for love?
The beauty for us, and, honestly a big part of why we work, is that he's also in sports. His schedule might be nuttier than mine because once the season starts, he's full go. I think the symmetry in our paths really helps us.
Communication is a huge part of our relationship. We both have these demanding sports jobs but at the same time, our foundation is important to us. So, if you're feeling a way, we need to be able to communicate that and address it. I've gotten really lucky in that department and I'm very happy.
When you're going through uncertainty, a challenge, or feeling stuck, how do you handle it?
Girl, talk about timing on this question! Ha! I've gotten to the place where my first question is, 'Okay God, what am I supposed to be learning?' This is fresh and relevant and still pressing. I am very much a believer in two things: I don't believe things just happen. I also genuinely believe that things work out. I think it's between that understanding, we have the opportunity to grow and learn. Sometimes that means I have to crack open a journal, call a mentor, or vent to a loved one. Sometimes it means me thinking through the process of how we got here.
Currently, a lot of my career in getting to ESPN, I was a freelancer. So that meant I was like a butterfly. I'd stay long enough to do the work but not long enough to get the drama. Now that I'm settling into different roles, I'm around a little longer and I'm seeing a little drama and what that feels like, and I ask myself, 'What can I control?' A lot of that has to do with my output at work, my attitude, and it has to do with being an advocate for myself in a respectful way, understanding my workplace dynamics, and relying on my team.
After I get through all those things, I just get back to the work. The bottom line for me is, the work got me here, the work will keep me here, and there's always room to grow and improve in the work.
For more of Monica, follow her on Instagram @mcnuttmonica.
Featured image courtesy of ESPN Images
Amber Riley has the type of laugh that sticks with you long after the raspy, rhythmic sounds have ceased. It punctuates her sentences sometimes, whether she’s giving a chuckle to denote the serious nature of something she just said or throwing her head back in rip-roarious laughter after a joke. She laughs as if she understands the fragility of each minute. She chooses laughter often with the understanding that future joy is not guaranteed.
Credit: Ally Green
The sound of her laughter is rivaled only by her singing voice, an emblem of the past and the future resilience of Black women stretched over a few octaves. On Fox’s Glee, her character Mercedes Jones was portrayed, perhaps unfairly, as the vocal duel to Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), offering rough, full-throated belts behind her co-star’s smooth, pristine vocals. Riley’s always been more than the singer who could deliver a finishing note, though.
Portraying Effie White, she displayed the dynamic emotions of a song such as “And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going” in Dreamgirls on London’s West End without buckling under the historic weight of her predecessors. With her instrument, John Mayer’s “Gravity” became a religious experience, a belted hymnal full of growls and churchy riffs. In her voice, Nicole Scherzinger once said she heard “the power of God.”
Credit: Ally Green
Riley’s voice has been a staple throughout pop culture for nearly 15 years now. Her tone has become so distinguishable that most viewers of Fox’s The Masked Singer recognized the multihyphenate even before it was revealed that she was Harp, the competition-winning, gold-masked figure with an actual harp strapped to her back.
Still, it wasn’t until recently that Riley began to feel like she’d found her voice. This sounds unbelievable. But she’s not referring to the one she uses on stage. She’s referencing the voice that speaks to who she is at her core. “Therapy kind of gave me the training to speak my mind,” the 37-year-old says. “It’s not something we’re taught, especially as Black women. I got so comfortable in [doing so], and I really want other people, especially Black women, to get more comfortable in that space.”
“Therapy kind of gave me the training to speak my mind. It’s not something we’re taught, especially as Black women."
If you ask Riley’s manager, Myisha Brooks, she’ll tell you the foundation of who the multihyphenate is hasn’t changed much since she was a kid growing up in Compton. “She is who she is from when I met her back when she was singing in the front of the church to back when she landed major roles in film and TV,” Brooks says. Time has allowed Riley to grow more comfortable, giving fans a more intimate glimpse into her life, including her mental health journey and the ins and outs of show business.
The actress/singer has been in therapy since 2019, although she suffered from depression and anxiety way before that. In a recent interview with Jason Lee, she recalls having suicidal ideation as a kid. By the time she started seeing a psychologist and taking antidepressants in her thirties, her body had become jittery, a physical reminder of the trauma stacked high inside her. “I was shaking in [my therapist’s] office,” she tells xoNecole. “My fight or flight was on such a high level. I was constantly in survival mode. My heart was beating fast all the time. All I did was sweat.”
There wasn’t just childhood trauma to account for. After auditioning for American Idol and being turned away by producers, Riley began working for Ikea and nearly missed her Glee audition because her car broke down on the highway while en route. Thankfully, Riley had been cast to play Mercedes Jones. American Idol had temporarily convinced her she wasn’t cut out for the entertainment industry, but this was validation that she was right where she belonged. Glee launched in 2009 with the promise of becoming Riley’s big break.
In some ways, it was. The show introduced Riley to millions of fans and catapulted her into major Hollywood circles. But in other ways, it became a reminder of the types of roles Black women, especially those who are plus-sized, are relegated to. Behind the scenes, Riley says she fought for her character "to have a voice" but eventually realized her efforts were useless. "It finally got to a point where I was like, this is not my moment. I'm not who they're choosing, and this is just going to have to be a job for me for now," she says. "And, that's okay because it pays my bills, I still get to be on television, I'm doing more than any other Black plus-sized women that I'm seeing right now on screen."
The actress can recognize now that she was navigating issues associated with trauma and low self-esteem at the time. She now knows that she's long had anxiety and depression and can recognize the ways in which she was triggered by how the cult-like following of the show conflicted with her individual, isolated experiences behind the scenes. But she was in her early '20s back then. She didn't yet have the language or the tools to process how she was feeling.
Riley says she eventually sought out medical intervention. "When you're in Hollywood, and you go to a doctor, they give you pills," she says, sharing a part of her story that she'd never revealed publicly before now. "[I was] on medication and developing a habit of medicating to numb, not understanding I was developing an addiction to something that's not fixing my problem. If anything, it's making it worse."
“[I was] on medication and developing a habit of medicating to numb, not understanding I was developing an addiction to something that’s not fixing my problem. If anything it’s making it worse.”
Credit: Ally Green
At one point, while in her dressing room on set, she rested her arm on a curling iron without realizing it. It wasn't until her makeup artist alerted her that she even realized her skin was burning. Once she noticed, she says she was "so zonked out on pills" that she barely reacted. Speaking today, she holds up her arm and motions towards a scar that remains from the incident. She sought help for her reliance on the pills, but it would still be years before she finally attended therapy.
This stress was only compounded by the trauma of growing up in poverty and the realities of being a "contract worker." "Imagine going from literally one week having to borrow a car to get to set to the next week being on a private jet to New York City," she says. After Glee ended, so did the rides on private planes. The fury of opportunities she expected to follow her appearance on the show failed to materialize. She wasn't even 30 yet, and she was already forced to consider if she'd hit her career peak.
. . .
We’re only four minutes into our Zoom call before Riley delivers her new adage to me. “My new mantra is ‘humility does not serve me.’ Humility does not serve Black women. The world works so hard to humble us anyway,” she says.
On this Thursday afternoon in April, the LA-based entertainer is seated inside her closet/dressing room wearing a cerulean blue tank top with matching shorts and eating hot wings. This current phase of healing hinges on balance. It’s about having discipline and consistency, but not at the risk of inflexibility. She was planning to head to the gym, for instance, but she’s still tired from the “exhausting” day before. Instead, she’s spent her day receiving a massage, eating some chicken wings, and planning to spend quality time with friends. “I’m not going to beat myself up for it. I’m not going to talk down to myself. I’m going to eat my chicken wings, and then tomorrow I’m [back] in the gym,” she says.
“My new mantra is ‘humility does not serve me.’ Humility does not serve Black women. The world works so hard to humble us anyway."
This is the balance with which she's been approaching much of her life these days. It's why she's worried less about whether or not people see her as someone who is humble. She'd rather be respected. "I think you should be a person that's easy to work with, but in the moments where I have to ruffle feathers and make waves, I'm not shying away from that anymore. You can do it in love, you don't have to be nasty about it, but I had to finally be comfortable with the fact that setting boundaries around my life – in whatever aspect, whether that's personal or business – people are not going to like it. Some people are not going to have nice things to say about you, and you gotta be okay with it," she says.
When Amber talks about the constant humbling of Black women in Hollywood, I think of the entertainers before her who have suffered from this. The brilliant, consistent, overqualified Black women who have spoken of having to fight for opportunities and fair pay. Aretha Franklin. Viola Davis. Tracee Ellis Ross. There's a long list of stars whose success hasn't mirrored their experiences behind the scenes.
Credit: Ally Green
If Black women outside of Hollywood are struggling to decrease the pay gap, so, too, are their wealthier, more famous peers.
Riley says there’s been progress in recent years, but only in small ways and for a limited group of people. “This business is exhausting. The goalpost is constantly moving, and sometimes it’s unfair,” she says. But, I have to say it’s the love that keeps you going.”
“There’s no way you can continue to be in this business and not love it, especially being a plus-sized Black woman,” she continues. “We’re still niche. We’re still not main characters.”
"There’s no way you can continue to be in this business and not love it, especially being a plus-sized Black woman. We’re still niche. We’re still not main characters.”
Last year, Riley starred alongside Raven Goodwin in the Lifetime thriller Single Black Female (a modern, diversified take on 1992’s Single White Female). It was more than a leading role for the actress, it also served as proof that someone who looks like her can front a successful project without it hinging on her identity. It showcased that the characters she portrays don’t “have to be about being a big girl. It can just be a regular story.”
Riley sees her work in music as an extension of her efforts to push past the rigid stereotypes in entertainment. Take her appearance on The Masked Singer, for instance. Riley said she decided to perform Mayer’s “Gravity” after being told she couldn’t sing it years earlier. “I wanted to do ‘Gravity’ on Glee. [I] was told no, because that’s not a song that Mercedes would do,” she says. “That was a full circle moment for me, doing that on that show and to hear what it is they had to say.”
As Scherzinger praised the “anointed” performance, a masked Riley began to cry, her chest heaving as she stood on stage, her eyes shielded from view. “You have to understand, I have really big names – casting directors, producers, show creators – that constantly tell me ‘I’m such a big fan. Your talent is unmatched.’ Hire me, then,” she says, reflecting on the moment.
Recently, she’s been in the studio working on original music, the follow-up to her independently-released debut EP, 2020’s Riley. The sequel to songs such as the anthemic “Big Girl Energy” and the reflective ballad “A Moment” on Riley, this new project hones in on the singer’s R&B roots with sensual grooves such as the tentatively titled “All Night.” “You said I wasn’t shit, turns out that I’m the shit. Then you called me a bitch, turns out that I’m that bitch. You said no one would want me, well you should call your homies,” she sings on the tentatively titled “Lately,” a cut about reflecting on a past relationship. From the forthcoming project, xoNecole received five potential tracks. Fans likely already know the strengths and contours of Riley’s vocals, but these new songs are her strongest, most confident offerings as an artist.
“I am so much more comfortable as a writer, and I know who I am as an artist now. I’m evolving as a human being, in general, so I’m way more vulnerable in my music. I’m way more willing to talk about whatever is on my mind. I don’t stop myself from saying what it is I want to say,” she says.
Credit: Ally Green
“Every era and alliteration of Amber, the baseline is ‘Big Girl Energy.’ That’s the name of her company,” her manager Brooks says, referencing the imprint through which Riley releases her music after getting out of a label deal several years ago. “It’s just what she stands for. She’s not just talking about size, it’s in all things. Whether it’s putting your big girl pants on and having to face a boardroom full of executives or sell yourself in front of a casting agent. It’s her trying to achieve the things she wants to do in life.”
Riley says she has big dreams beyond releasing this new music, too. She’d love to star in a rom-com with Winston Duke. She hasn't starred in a biopic yet, but she’d revel in the opportunity to portray Rosetta Tharpe on screen. She’s determined that her previous setbacks won’t stop her from dreaming big.
“I think one of my superpowers is resilience because, at the end of the day, I’m going to kick, scream, cry, cuss, be mad and disappointed, but I’m going to get up and risk having to deal with it all again. It’s worth it for the happy moments,” she says.
If Riley seems more comfortable and confident professionally, it’s because of the work she’s been doing in her personal life.
She’d previously spoken to xoNecole about becoming engaged to a man she discovered in a post on the site, but she called things off last year. For Valentine’s Day, she revealed her new boyfriend publicly. “I decided to post him on Valentine’s Day, partially because I was in the dog house. I got in trouble with him,” she says, half-joking before turning serious. “The breakup was never going to stop me from finding love. Or at least trying. I don’t owe anybody a happily ever after. People break up. It happens. When it was good, it was good. When it was bad, it was terrible, hunny. I had to get the fuck up out of there. You find happiness, and you enjoy it and work through it.”
Credit: Ally Green
"I don’t owe anybody a happily ever after. People break up. It happens. When it was good, it was good. When it was bad, it was terrible, hunny. I had to get the fuck up out of there. You find happiness and you enjoy it and work through it.”
With her ex, Riley was pretty outspoken about her relationship, even appearing in content for Netflix with him. This time around is different. She’s not hiding her boyfriend of eight months, but she’s more protective of him, especially because he’s a father and isn’t interested in becoming a public figure.
She’s traveling more, too. It’s a deliberate effort on her part to enjoy her money and reject the trauma she’s developed after experiencing poverty in her childhood. “I live in constant fear of being broke. I don’t think you ever don’t remember that trauma or move past that. Now I travel and I’m like, listen, if it goes, it goes. I’m not saying [to] be reckless, but I deserve to enjoy my hard work.”
After everything she’s been through, she certainly deserves to finally let loose a bit. “I have to have a life to live,” she says. “I’ve got to have a life worth fighting for.”
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