- Hey, I'm Michelle Buteau.
My new Netflix series "Survival of Thickest"
is out now on Netflix.
My character, Mavis, also goes through a lot
of similar things that I went through,
but we just built a whole different world
inspired by the book with the same name.
So you know there's gonna be some crossover.
- Don't hurt him!
- What?
- Or not, but there are things
that have straight up happened.
- Hello?
- Mavis.
Hi!
- Hi. - Hey, welcome, welcome.
Namaste.
- In real life I had a roommate,
my first and last roommate in New York City,
and I wouldn't say she was a hoarder,
she was more of a collector and loved olive oil.
So everything was just sticky in the house or very wet.
It was very hard to get out the door
'cause the doorknob was always slippery
and so Mavis has a roommate
who also is a very interesting collector.
- I just touched this chair
and now there's a greasy film inside of my hand.
- It's just olive oil.
- In my real life,
I've had a best friend since seventh grade
who's an amazing guy, who's an artist,
who definitely was a bit of a hoe who finally settled down
and I also have a best friend that's older a Black woman
that looks younger than me
and she's just a rich bitch and she knows everything
and will always give me great advice
and so Mavis has these two best friends
that are definitely modeled after my two best friends.
They're totally from different worlds,
but somehow we all come together for the love of Mavis.
Khalil and Marley definitely are just
a well-made bra, uplifting and supportive.
- Okay, babe, what's got you all twirling and grinning?
- Oh, she got some Italian chocolate.
- Oh.
- As if thick bitches and lacy panties
wasn't exciting enough.
The Big Bitch Lingerie,
we only have eight episodes to work with
and so how do you showcase what's going on in the world?
There are big bitches everywhere,
men, women, non-binary royalty who love their curves,
who are not ashamed of them
and so the nightlife is definitely where we go
in the little dark corners where you can be celebrated
and disco twirl.
It was so nice that we could get this party together,
find beautiful women who don't mind showcasing their body
for the world to see because all of that matters
and also we were able to support Black female designer
who designed most of the lingerie that everybody's wearing.
It wasn't a two for one,
it was like an all for one and one for all situation.
- I made the Mavis-kill hashtag.
So it's not a stretch to say that I made you.
- Not only have I had so many Natasha's in my life,
I've had so many friends that have had a boss like Natasha,
where these people take up space in your life.
- Thank you!
- Ew!
Get off me.
- I am so far away.
- If you have a bad boss,
someone who's, like, terrible to you,
but you are still working in a field
that you want to be working in and be successful in
for a very long time, it's definitely this weird place
of how long do I have to pay my dues?
Does it ever get better?
Will people ever treat me with respect and kindness?
Is this what I'm supposed to be doing?
I've had a lot of bad bosses,
but they have all fueled my fire
because everyone who talked down to me,
who said I couldn't make it,
who said I was too fat to be on camera,
all of those things gave me the fuel that I needed
to come up with this mantra and that is,
"If you don't wanna hear from me,
"you're gonna hear about me."
So, bitch, I'll see you on LinkedIn
'cause I know you need a job.
(chuckling)
The main character starts out with getting cheated on.
It's been done before
but cheating is something that happens to a lot of people
and we never fully get to grieve it sometimes
'cause everyone's just like,
"Okay, now I need the happy person, let's go, let's go."
I specifically picked cheating
because I've been cheated on a lot
and so have women in my family.
The amount of good that can come out of pain,
I don't think we really give that enough respect.
If we actually sit in our feelings and figure out
how we can get better and wiser and learn from that mistake,
then that is such an invaluable lesson
that you'll never learn in a school.
Right?
I love that people live in the likes,
they're looking at all these
motivational quotes on Instagram,
but nothing is really gonna hurt you
and teach you some real life shit.
- Really?
I'm just trying to live my life!
- So I'm like, "Okay, what does it really look like
starting over, all the way over?"
Because I've seen way too many people stay in relationships
because they thought that's what they have to do.
What does it look like when you actually
give yourself a whole ass chance
to do something really different
and redefine how people should treat you,
is really how you redefine how you treat yourself.
- I'm Mavis Beaumont and I have a passion for fashion.
♪ First rule of couture, it's all fashion ♪
♪ Now bow to this queen ♪
You better start that rumor, okay?
"Survival of Thickest" is now streaming on Netflix.