VH1 Says They Will Stop the Violence on ‘Basketball Wives’ – Will It Work?
Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk about the excessive drama, negativity, and violence on VH1′s hit reality show Basketball Wives. Although the show is popular, some fans have been revolting, demanding the women grow up and stop solving every petty argument and conflict with their fists.
A petition calling for a more responsible portrayal of women made the rounds on the ‘net and even prompted one of the show’s sponsors, Summer’s Eve, to drop out of the show. Perhaps feeling pressured by the onslaught of criticism, VH1 and the show’s production company Shed Media have promised to put a stop to the on-screen violence.
VH1 discussed the change in a press release:
“Our viewers opinions always matter a great deal to us at VH1. Lately, there has been a lot of conversation about Basketball Wives, a series featuring strong, intelligent women with very passionate viewpoints which can sometimes escalate.”
They continued: “We at VH1 agree with and support Shaunie and the show producers’ “no excessive physical confrontations” policy on the series moving forward. We are all committed to balancing the candid, bold excitement that the viewers have come to love in the series with storylines and representations they can be proud of. Shaunie has been a strong advocate for a more balanced approach to the show and we, along with our producing partners at Shed Media, are all in agreement about moving forward with that goal.”
The folks of Shed Media agreed:
“Shed Media US is fully committed to telling the compelling stories of the Basketball Wives in a balanced way. Our producing partner Shaunie O’Neal feels strongly about this, and we fully agree with this stance. We support her as she encourages the cast members to work out issues in a non-violent fashion. We look forward to working with her and the rest of the cast on conveying more balance in the next season.”
So does this mean the ladies will no longer resort to hair-pulling, cussing, and bottle-throwing? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
What do you think of the changes? Will fans continue to watch a toned down ‘Basketball Wives’?
I don’t believe people will watch it. I hate to admit it but that is the reason why I watch Basketball Wives, despite knowing that it is a negative portrayl of women, I can’t help but see it as a form of entertainment also. I don’t know any African American women who conduct themselves the way Tami & Evelyn do.
Probably not. My prediction is that the show will be cancelled within 2 seasons if they stop fighting. These women bring nothing to the table other than their physical beauty, and their fighting. They don’t have much to say if they’re not fighting, talking about a right that’s going to happen, or talking about a fight that already happened.
People get upset about the representations, particularly of Black people, that are on tv, and in movies, but this is what people like to watch. There’s lots of positive, uplifting entertainment out there, but we would rather watch Basketball Wives, the Housewives shows, Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, etc. This stuff is a reflection of our tastes and preferences.
I’m sick of it. These chicks are fighting over who said what to who and when she said it to whom who did it behind her back because so and so said it..LIke seriously??
These are grown women. Enough is enough !!!
This show needs to go off the air…period! I’ am glad to hear that more sponsors are dropping or not backing this production anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I understand drama to boost rating but this show is so far pass drama and dived into the realm of stupidity and pettiness that it isn’t funny nor enjoyable to watch. Honestly, at this point I don’t think a water down version would help, the people I know seems to be over this show, mainly because shows like this have a shelf life. The only way this can be implemented is if BBW get a whole new cast and start from scratch.
That’s good to know…hopefully the others will follow suit.
I’m so sick of reality T.V. that I cut off my cable because I can easily just watch this mess on youtube instead of wasting money.
Can you imagine this mess going into syndication?
I think these types of realityshows are running on fumes.
Prime example is RHWA…