Why J.B. Smoove Worried About Daughter Monay (A.k.a., Jerrica Brooks) Joining Claim To Fame

Jerrica Brooks, a.k.a. Monay from "Claim to Fame," came one guess short of winning the season. Ultimately, Gabriel Cannon guessed her famous father, comedian J.B. Smoove, before she could take the crown by guessing his famous brother Nick Cannon. Monay's father wasn't her only surprise. She also revealed her real name, Jerrica — Monay is her middle name. Brooks kept her true name a secret so the other contestants wouldn't connect the dots and figure out that she shared her father's initials. His real name is Jerry Brooks, and Jerrica Brooks was named after him.

At the end of "Claim to Fame," Smoove showered his daughter with praise for doing so well. However, initially, he was a little hesitant about her appearing on the ABC reality show. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Brooks shared his first reactions to her reality TV debut. Smoove was "really excited" but then got nervous as filming neared.

"So when I said I was gonna go on the show, he got nervous. He's like, who's gonna take care of everything? I'm gonna miss you, blah, blah, blah, " she told EW. Despite Smoove's early hesitations, Brooks reassured him that everything would be fine, and he calmed down.

J.B. Smoove regularly watched "Claim to Fame" as it aired. He often added commentary and discussed the episodes with his daughter, Jerrica Brooks. In typical father fashion, he constantly teased her about things that happened on the show. In particular, he found the "Claim to Fame" cast's guesses about Chris Osmond hilarious. Immediately, he identified Chris as Donny Osmond's son and found the series of wrong guesses quite funny, which included Elton John and Billy Idol.

Smoove also found a lot of humor in the cast's wrong guesses about Brooks' celebrity relative. Steve Harvey was a popular guess for her father's identity. Brooks told Entertainment Weekly that she responded to her father's bewilderment with the guess, "Yeah, that's my new dad." Brooks said it became a running joke between them. Harvey and Brooks have met before, but he's not some secret long-lost relative. According to her, Harvey and her father have a "nice relationship." Harvey has seven kids, but Brooks is the only child of Smoove.

Jerrica Brooks made it to the finale, but fellow finalist Gabriel Cannon knew her celebrity relative long before their last showdown. In an interview with The Messenger, Brooks revealed that Cannon asked about her father's last name and wanted to know if it was Smoove. Brooks tried to throw him off and responded with "Wow, Gabriel. That's so close. Not right though. But super close." Internally she was freaking out, but the lie convinced him to continue to work on guessing her father's identity. 

Brooks also tried to convince the house that her father was a different famous person. She wanted the other contestants to think her father was former basketball player and host John Salley. Brooks' logic for this lie was that people often mix J.B. Smoove up with John Salley, despite their obvious physical differences. Therefore, she assumed it was a believable lie. However, Brooks eventually dropped the lie and moved on from that plan. Instead, she credits her social game as the reason for her longevity on "Claim to Fame."