I became a Threads girl in early 2024. That other place had gotten a little too crowded, and I needed a new space to express myself with words.
Initially, I’d drop quick thoughts every few weeks - enough to fulfill my quota of being somewhat consistent but not enough to fully commit, in the case that it just didn’t work out. Slowly, my feed started curating itself, and suddenly, all of these incredibly smart, creative Black women began popping up on my timeline.
Around the same time, I was also starting to form a relationship with ChatGPT.
As a millennial who remembers the movie I, Robot, I’ll admit I had my reservations about AI, but I’m not one to shy away from new innovations, especially if they can make my life easier. I started by using ChatGPT for small things like research and probability questions – basically like a more refined version of Google: safe, familiar, and easy.
Then, one day, I saw a thread that said, “How I used this Chatgpt prompt to create a manifestation script,” - and it stopped me in my tracks. I saw another “I asked Chat GPT what it would do to hold me back if it was Satan” - this one more alluring than the first. Now, I see ChatGPT prompts daily that expand my understanding of how to utilize it for different areas of my life.
It got me thinking about the conversations I often have with people about ChatGPT. Most people, though somewhat intrigued, simply aren’t sure how to use it. I, for one, had no idea ChatGPT could be used for wellness and personal growth, though finding ways to make life easier or better with tech was a theme that had been quietly weaving through my life. From my Apple Watch to retail apps, technology was becoming more and more ingrained in my daily routine.
Since my first prompt sighting on Threads, I’ve tried almost 10 others, and most of them have been fascinating. Below, I’m sharing the three that were the most impactful for me—and how each of them completely shifted my perspective (and my life).
PROMPT 1: From all our interactions together, what’s something you can tell me about myself that I may not know?
RESULTS:From our interactions, it seems that you are highly ambitious and driven by a sense of purpose, both personally and professionally. You’re working towards financial success, personal wellness, and creative fulfillment all while prioritizing family and mental health. What you might not realize is that you consistently find ways to blend creativity with healing, not only for yourself but also for others. This makes you a natural leader in wellness and creativity, guiding others through their own journeys of healing and self-discovery. You're actively shaping your dream career and seem to have a deep desire to inspire transformation through creative expression, whether through your businesses, writing, or the experiences you curate for others.
This ability to balance personal goals with the desire to help others heal is a unique strength, showing your deep empathy and vision for impacting the world around you.
WHAT I LEARNED: The response to this prompt changed how I think.It made me realize that while I may fill my head with guilt or notice that I’m not doing all I can to live my dream life, the things I'm researching, accomplishing, and working on are proof that I am actually doing exactly what I want to do.
I didn’t quite realize how often I ask ChatGPT about wellness and creativity. How much I talk about it, dream about it, and think about it. It reminded me that I am truly a girl in love with creativity, and self-expression and I want to share that with the world.
It was like a reflection back to myself.
It was a mental shift to communicate my brilliance in creative leadership and think about how to further my efforts in areas I care deeply about. Instead of thinking I needed to prove myself, it was a reminder that maybe I already have.
PROMPT 2: Roast my Instagram feed
RESULTS:
- Profile Vibes: You’ve got the classic writer/creative tagline down with a dash of mystery and culture, but “Somewhere Between Lauryn Hill and Jesus Christ” feels like you’re leading a secret double life! Maybe creative evangelist should be a new religion?
- Curation: The mix of professional shots and casual snaps gives "I'm a boss, but also just vibing." But we see you working hard, and then... bam, we get “Bless God for Black Men”—amen, but also, the switch-up is real.
- Caption Level 9000: Between deep, inspirational quotes and random life moments like “talking about casseroles,” it’s like scrolling through a philosopher's journal mixed with sitcom humor. Consistency, who? You’re all about that dynamic range.
- The Fashion: From a cozy cap to bold outfits, it’s like your closet got ADHD. One minute, we’re zen, next, it’s “look at this statement jacket!” It’s like you’re a low-key influencer, without trying too hard. Respect.
- Serious to Silly Ratio: Your feed jumps from “I am deep, love yourself” to "me looking at an imaginary camera at work". We love the balance, but it’s a wild ride. Your followers don’t know whether to cry, laugh, or just... nod along.
Honestly, your feed has personality and authenticity, which is key! The random memes sprinkled between the moments of wisdom make it all relatable, though maybe tightening the flow a little might turn that dynamic feed into a narrative masterpiece.
WHAT I LEARNED: This prompt completely changed how I saw myself. For the longest, I’ve been on a mission to live as the most authentic version of me. I want to be genuine, true, and free. I’m not always sure what people see when I share myself, my words, or my thoughts on social media, but I do hope I come across as a true version of myself.
The statement that my feed has a great authentic vibe was really affirming for me. Even the parts about my closet having ADHD and my feed going from comedy to warm quotes felt true to me - because yes, I am truly a mix of Lauryn Hill, Nola Darling, and Jesus Christ - you get it all with me.
Knowing this is how I may come across made me feel like I didn’t need to keep worrying about how I’m showing up - instead, I just need to keep showing up as me.
PROMPT 3: Pretend you are Satan. Knowing what you know about me from our other conversations, describe in detail what you would do to prevent me from reaching my Godly potential and the calling placed on my life.
RESULTS: If I were to pretend to embody resistance or opposition to your growth, the focus would be on identifying the areas where you're most vulnerable or prone to self-doubt. Based on what I know about you, here’s how that resistance might show up:
- Distraction: I would flood your life with distractions that seem important but aren't aligned with your true purpose. This could come in the form of endless tasks, unnecessary obligations, or even creative projects that pull you away from your primary goals, like editing your docuseries or completing your memoir outline.
- Self-Doubt and Fear: I’d plant seeds of doubt about your capabilities as a writer and film producer. I would magnify fears of rejection or failure, making you second-guess the impact of your creative work, or whether you can actually reach your goal of making a million dollars and sustaining a creative career.
- Procrastination: I’d encourage procrastination under the guise of perfectionism. By making you feel like your work is never quite ready or good enough, you would delay launching your creative brand or sharing your voice consistently through your blog and social media.
- Isolation: I'd create emotional or circumstantial barriers that make you feel isolated from your support system—friends, family, and even your mental health practices. Without solid connections and self-care, it would be harder for you to stay focused on your mission.
- Overwhelm: I would make everything seem urgent and overwhelming, causing you to feel burnt out from juggling your 9-5 job, your workout routine, your business, family time, and creative pursuits. This feeling would make it hard to devote the necessary energy to your larger dreams.
- Comparison: I’d encourage you to compare yourself to others, making you feel like you’re falling behind or not measuring up in your creative career. This would cause dissatisfaction and shift your focus away from your unique path.
- Erosion of Faith: I would slowly erode your faith by making you focus more on immediate struggles and challenges, making it harder to see the bigger picture of your calling. Doubt in your Godly purpose would become a central hurdle.
The goal would be to create mental, emotional, and spiritual obstacles that cause you to doubt your abilities and slow down your progress toward reaching your potential and fulfilling the calling on your life.
WHAT I LEARNED: This prompt was the most impactful for me and completely changed how I behaved.
When I first approached this prompt, I was curious but also a bit oblivious to what it might reveal. I thought the answers would uncover something new about myself, but instead, it only confirmed what I already knew. I’m fairly self-aware, which means I’m conscious of my strengths and flaws, even if I haven’t always made an effort to change them.
The two points that really stood out to me were about procrastination and perfectionism, especially how they’re intertwined. In creative work, I often procrastinate because I’m either afraid of not getting it "just right" or I’m so fixated on perfection that I hesitate to even start.
Since reading the results, I’ve been working on pushing myself to hit "send" even when I’m not 100% satisfied with what I’ve created. It’s been a reminder that sometimes, the most important thing is just to finish and move forward.
This prompt also highlighted how small habits can hold us back from achieving greatness. Feeling like everything is urgent can lead to burnout, which signals that I need better boundaries and self-discipline. Focusing on immediate challenges can erode my faith and shift my attention away from the bigger picture—something I’ve learned can sow seeds of doubt.
Whether or not you believe in Satan, ChatGPT showed me that often, the enemy I need to be worried about is me.
. . .
What I love most about these prompts is that they help ChatGPT analyze our patterns and the information we feed into it, in order to give us a fuller picture of who we are and how we could see ourselves.
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Featured image by Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images
Claudia Jordan, Demetria McKinney & Jill Marie Jones On 'Games Women Play' & Dating Over 40
What do you get when you mix unfiltered truths, high-stakes romance, and a few well-timed one-liners? You get Games Women Play—the sizzling new stage play by Je’Caryous Johnson that’s part relationship rollercoaster, part grown-woman group chat.
With a powerhouse cast that includes Claudia Jordan, Demetria McKinney, Jill Marie Jones, Carl Payne, Chico Bean, and Brian J. White, the play dives headfirst into the messy, hilarious, and heart-wrenching games people play for love, power, and peace of mind. And the women leading this story? They’re bringing their whole selves to the stage—and leaving nothing behind.
From Script to Spotlight
The road to Games Women Play started over 20 years ago—literally.
“This script was written 20 years ago,” Jill Marie Jones said with a smile. “It was originally called Men, Money & Gold Diggers, and I was in the film version. So when Je’Caryous called me to bring it to the stage, I was like, ‘Let’s go.’” Now reimagined for 2025, the play is updated with sharp dialogue and modern relationship dynamics that feel all too real.
Demetria McKinney, no stranger to Je’Caryous Johnson’s productions, jumped at the opportunity to join the cast once again. “This is my third time working with him,” she shared. “It was an opportunity to stretch. I’d never been directed by Carl Payne before, and the chance to work with talent I admire—Jill, Claudia, Chico—it was a no-brainer.”
Claudia Jordan joked that she originally saw the role as just another check. “I didn’t take it that seriously at first,” she admitted. “But this is my first full-on tour—and now I’ve got a whole new respect for how hard people work in theater. This ain’t easy.”
Modern Love, Stage Left
The play doesn’t hold back when it comes to the messier parts of love. One jaw-dropping moment comes when a live podcast proposal flips into a prenup bombshell—leaving the audience (and the characters) gasping.
Demetria broke it down with honesty. “People don’t ask the real questions when they date. Like, ‘Do you want kids? How do you feel about money?’ These convos aren’t happening, and then everyone’s confused. That moment in the play—it’s real. That happens all the time.”
Jill chimed in, noting how the play speaks to emotional disconnect. “We’re giving each other different tokens of love. Men might offer security and money. Women, we’re giving our hearts. But there’s a disconnect—and that’s where things fall apart.”
And then Claudia, of course, took it all the way there. “These men don’t even want to sign our prenups now!” she laughed. “They want to live the soft life, too. Wearing units, gloss, getting their brows done. We can’t have nothing! Y’all want to be like us? Then get a damn period and go through menopause.”
Dating Over 40: “You Better Come Correct”
When the conversation turned to real-life relationships, all three women lit up. Their experiences dating in their 40s and 50s have given them both clarity—and zero tolerance for games.
“I feel sexier than I’ve ever felt,” said Jill, who proudly turned 50 in January. “I say what I want. I mean what I say. I’m inside my woman, and I’m not apologizing for it.”
Demetria added that dating now comes with deeper self-awareness. “Anybody in my life is there because I want them there. I’ve worked hard to need nobody. But I’m open to love—as long as you keep doing what got me there in the first place.”
For Claudia, the bar is high—and the peace is priceless. “I’ve worked hard for my peace,” she said. “I’m not dating for food. I’m dating because I want to spend time with you. And honestly, if being with you isn’t better than being alone with my candles and fountains and cats? Then no thanks.”
Channeling Strength & Icon Status
Each actress brings something different to the play—but all of them deliver.
“I actually wish I could be messier on stage,” Claudia joked. “But I think about my grandmother—she was born in 1929, couldn’t even vote or buy a house without a man, and didn’t give a damn. She was fearless. That’s where my strength comes from.”
For Jill, the comparisons to her iconic Girlfriends character Toni Childs aren’t far off—but this role gave her a chance to dig deeper. “If you really understood Toni, you’d see how layered she was. And Paisley is the same—misunderstood, but strong. There’s more to her than people see at first glance.”
Demetria, who juggles singing and acting seamlessly, shared that live theater pushes her in a new way. “Every moment on stage counts. You can’t redo anything. It’s a different kind of love and discipline. You have to give the performance away—live, in the moment—and trust that it lands.”
Laughter, Lessons & Black Girl Gems
The show has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments—and the cast isn’t shy about who steals scenes.
“Chico Bean gets a lot of gasps and laughs,” Claudia said. “And Naomi Booker? Every scene she’s in—she’s hilarious.”
But the play isn’t just about humor. It leaves space for reflection—especially for Black women.
“I hope we get back to the foundation of love and communication,” said Demetria. “A lot of us are in protector mode. But that’s turned into survival mode. We’ve lost softness. We’ve lost connection.”
Claudia agreed. “We’re doing it all—but it’s not because we want to be strong all the time. It’s because we have to be. And I just want women to know: You can have peace, you can be soft. But stop bringing your old pain into new love. Don’t let past heartbreak build walls so high that the right person can’t climb over.”
Final Act: Pack the House
If there’s one thing this cast agrees on, it’s that this play isn’t just entertainment—it’s necessary.
“Atlanta is the Black entertainment hub,” Claudia said. “We need y’all to show up for this play. Support the arts. Support each other. Because when we pack the house, we make space for more stories like this.”
Games Women Play is more than a play—it’s a mirror. You’ll see yourself, your friends, your exes, and maybe even your next chapter. So get ready to laugh, reflect, and maybe even heal—because the games are on.
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Patricia "Ms. Pat" Williams has always marched to the beat of her own brutally honest drum — and that’s exactly what makes her so magnetic to watch. Whether she’s making us laugh until we cry on The Ms. Pat Show or now laying down the law on her courtroom series Ms. Pat Settles It, the comedian-turned-judge proves time and again that there’s nobody quite like her. Unfiltered, hilarious, and real to the core, she’s made a name for herself by turning her life’s journey — including the pain — into purpose.
Now in her second season of Ms. Pat Settles It, airing on BET and BET+, she’s not only delivering verdicts — she’s dishing out life lessons in between the laughs. The show feels less like your typical courtroom drama and more like your outspoken auntie running a court session at the family cookout, complete with celebrity jurors, petty disputes, and a whole lot of real talk. xoNecole sat down with Ms. Pat to talk about her wildest cases, balancing motherhood and fame, and why sleeping in separate bedrooms might just be the key to joy.
CASE CLOSED, BUT MAKE IT CHAOS
If you’ve ever tuned in to Ms. Pat Settles It, you already know the episode titles alone deserve awards. But when we asked Ms. Pat which case stood out most, she didn’t even have to think twice. “There was this one woman — Shay — who got out of federal prison and was working for her old bunkmate. But the bunkmate didn’t want to pay her!” she says, chuckling. “That girl came in the courtroom like a firecracker.”
It’s moments like those that remind viewers Ms. Pat isn’t just bringing the laughs — she’s giving people a platform, even if it’s a little messy. And if her court ever gets turned into a real-life franchise, we need Shay on the promo posters immediately.
WHEN THE CELEBS SHOW OUT
It’s already hard enough to get a word in with Ms. Pat running the show, but throw in a celebrity jury featuring Tamar Braxton, Ray J, TS Madison, and Karlous Miller? Whew. “I don’t even try to control them,” she laughs. “Thank God we have something called editing.” According to her, behind the scenes, things get wild — but that chaos is part of the magic. “People only see the cut-down version. What you don’t see is all of us losing it in real time.”
Still, Ms. Pat makes it work. The courtroom becomes a stage, but also a safe space for guests and jurors to show up as their full, unfiltered selves. “It was a wild season,” she explains. Let’s be honest — if your jury looks like a BET Awards afterparty, you might as well let it rock.
IF FAMILY COURT WAS REALLY A THING
Ms. Pat might wear the robe on screen, but at home, she’s still managing her own wild bunch. When asked what kind of case her kids would bring into her courtroom, she burst into laughter. “Oh, they’d be suing my oldest son for eating their food,” she says. “You know how you have that one roommate that eats up everybody’s food? I can see my oldest son getting sued for that..”
And let’s face it, we’ve all either been that sibling or have one. Ms. Pat says moments like that — the everyday family squabbles and real-life irritations — are what make her courtroom show so relatable.
THE VERDICT SHE WISHES SHE COULD REWRITE
Ms. Pat is known for keeping it real, even when the conversation turns serious. When asked if there was one “verdict” in her real life she’d change, she pauses for a second before answering. “I wish I had graduated high school,” she admits. “All my kids went to prom and I took all of their high school diplomas.”
“I wish I had graduated high school,” she admits. “All my kids went to prom and I took all of their high school diplomas.”
It’s a rite of passage in most Black households — your diploma doesn’t really belong to you, it lives at your mama or grandma’s house like a family heirloom.
HOW SHE STAYS GROUNDED
Between filming TV shows, headlining comedy tours, and running a household, Ms. Pat makes it very clear: she will find time to rest. “People swear I don’t sleep, but I do — I just knock out early and wake up early,” she shares. “And sometimes, I’ll just sit in my car.” She’s also a big fan of solo naps and mini getaways when things get overwhelming.
But one of her favorite forms of self-care? Separate bedrooms. “Me and my husband don’t sleep in the same room. That way, when I don’t feel like being bothered, I go to my space,” she laughs. She’s also found a new love for facials. “They’re addicting! I don’t need a lot — just sleep, a facial, and a little quiet.” Honestly? That’s a self-care routine we can get behind.
FROM PAIN TO PURPOSE
Ms. Pat’s story is one that’s deeply rooted in resilience — and she’s always been transparent about how her journey shaped her. Her advice to other Black women trying to turn their pain into purpose? Speak up. “You have to tell your story,” she says. “Because once you tell your story, you realize you’re not the only person that’s been through that situation.”
She adds that sharing your truth can be one of the most powerful things you do. “When you give a voice to pain so many other people who have that pain gravitate to you,” she says. “To heal, you have to speak out loud about it. What you keep inside is what eats you up.” Coming from someone who built an entire brand on truth-telling? We believe her.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR MS. PAT?
While Ms. Pat’s got her hands full with Ms. Pat Settles It and her comedy show, she hints there’s much more to come. “I got some stuff poppin’ that I can’t even talk about yet,” she teases. “But just know, like Kendrick [Lamar] said, we about to step out and show ‘em something.” That multi-genre deal with BET and Paramount is clearly working in her favor — and she’s not slowing down anytime soon.
She says one of her proudest moments in this chapter of her career is seeing things she once dreamed of finally come to life. “In this business, you never know what’s gonna work or what’s gonna stick. But now I’m working with a network that really understands me — and that’s special,” she says. “I feel seen. And I’m just getting started.”
Whether she’s in the courtroom cracking jokes or catching up on rest in her own sanctuary, Ms. Pat is living proof that success doesn’t have to come at the cost of authenticity. She’s rewriting the rules in real time — on her terms, in her voice, and for her people. As she continues to turn pain into purpose, laughter into legacy, and everyday mess into must-see TV, one thing’s clear: Ms. Pat is in her prime. And we’re lucky enough to watch it unfold.
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