When you first heard about rapper Shawty Lo’s reality show train wreck ‘All My Babies Mamas,‘ were you excited with the hopes of a new unscripted show fulfilling your ratchet quota of the week? Or were saddened by yet another stereotype gone way wrong? Honestly, I was little bit of both I don’t condone any of these reality shows that “expose” a mentality that can easily embarrass an entire culture.
Must Read: Kim Coles Proves That Living Eco-Chic Is No Laughing Matter
Sabrina Lamb is a media personality and financial educator who was sick of hearing about shows like Shawty Lo’s getting the green light and decided to take matters into her own hands. With the help of four black men and two black women–who make up the No-Oxygen Coalition and share her sentiments, Lamb managed to get a petition up, which in turn took Shawty Lo’s show down.
Shawty Lo, the sperm donor father of all 11 children isn’t just sitting back and letting it happen though. According to TMZ, he’s been getting offers from networks and says that, “I take pride in having been actively present in all my children’s lives — and I understand my family doesn’t represent the typical American family, but it’s my family and it works for us.”
Must Read: Can You Maintain Your Sense Of Self & Still ‘Fit In’ The Corporate World?
With that said, I just had to track down Sabrina and ask her how she felt about him trying to get the show on and why she loathes Shawty Lo’s ghetto reality so much. Check out chat out below.
HelloBeautiful: People label you a hater…are you?
Sabrina: I agree. I am a hater. I’m a hater of coonery. I’m a hater of accepting crumbs. I’m a hater of people who have accepted their own self-loathing. But the slave auction continues. I want our people to want more for themselves. Please want more for yourselves.
What is it about this show that you think crossed the line so much, that made you want to take action?
SL: Well, first of all, this happened very quickly. I was preparing a peaceful New Year’s Eve with champagne and candles. A friend of mine emailed me the pilot of the show. And I don’t get to watch everything my friends send me, but something said, ‘Open this e-mail and watch.’ And it just slapped me across the face. Tears came to my eyes. These women who look like me. First of all, this network and a segment of our culture feel that black women don’t even deserve the term ‘mother.’ We’re a demeaning term called ‘baby’s mamas.’ We’re a joke! It’s always done with a giggle or we’re just a burden to someone. We’re not worthy of being married and we’re sluts and we’ll not even protect ourselves from diseases or pregnancy. But the problem was, 11 of his children are sitting there front row! I mean, where do people think these kids are? In Vermont? They’re seeing their parents’ chaos. And I see the impact of all that stuff. When my children say, ‘When are adults going to stand up? When are they gonna stop acting a fool? When is my mother going to stop having all of these men in my house? When? When is my father going to be a father?’
Must Read: 5 Tips To Stay Fit And Fine Like The Flotus
HB: Do you think you have something against Shawty Lo? Or it is just what he is representing?
SL: No. I don’t know him personally at all. The Senior VP of Oxygen Media Cori Abraham thought this was just a gigglefest. ‘We’re gonna provide over the top moments for our young, diverse, female audiences to see these feisty baby mommas fight for who gets all these school supplies. Who gets financial support as they split affection of one man multiple ways? So we’re gonna give you all these over the top, dysfunctional moments so you can Tweet about.’
HB: There’s a problem with the formula of entertainment television…
SL: It’s a joke! This petition quickly attracted people. I have a coalition because it’s not just me anymore. There are six of us who said, ‘Enough is enough!’
Dorothy Height–I remember her as a young woman, she predicted this day would come. First they were going to come for you and your images and prosecute your images for silver and then they’re going to come for your children and we let it happen. The fact that it’s 2013 and there’s no African-American producers at these networks that can green light projects is a felony. And the fact that Black people are protesting this can’t even get a building pass at any of these networks and they’re upset that this buffoonery can’t even go on air!
HB: There’s actually a petition in response to your petition to get Shawty Lo back on the air…
SL: Well this is what I will say. They need to pool their money, buy a network and put it on. Get advertisers and put it on!
HB: What would you say if the show actually got the green light?
SL: It’s not going to. It’s not because it’s a wish. Advertisers shared with me [that] they’re not going to align their brand with a concept that shares such dangerous messages. They don’t care about him; they care about their brand. And those 37,000 people plus represent 37,000 families. And that doesn’t even include the 45,000 people who signed Color Of Change’s petition. And then the people from the hip-hop and the rap community that said, ‘Thank you! This is foul!’
Must Read: Foods You Should Eat For Younger Looking Skin
HB: How do you feel about reality shows and how they portray women of color?
SL: I think that they are buffoonish. I believe that they set women up as enemies, as even Shawty Lo’s show did. The mothers were fighting each other. ‘How come that child got private education and mine didn’t? I had to go to her to get money from him!’ So these women crave and we crave to see ourselves on TV and then we’ll see a certain reality person and applaud them. Why? Did they cure cancer? What did they do? I know they’re at the red carpet, but what are they posing for? What are you posing for? Those images are constructed very carefully to skew your viewpoint of whomever they’re targeting. If there was balance there, I would still be opposed to this. But if there was balance and African-American producers, then that would be fine. But there isn’t. And we’re not even demanding it. This petition was done with six coalition members and 37,000 people.
Follow HelloBeautiful On Twitter!
More On Ratchet Reality TV:
When Reality TV Gets Real: The 10 Best Ratchet Moments Of 2012
30 Minutes With Tami Roman: “People Put Too Much Weight On Reality TV”
Check Out This Gallery:
