Oxygen Cancels Shawty Lo’s “All My Babies’ Mamas”
Maybe there is a foolproof way to combat reality television shows that feed offensive and negative stereotypes: petition, criticize and threaten to stop tuning in.
The strategy reportedly worked for Oxygen’s latest reality show which featured rapper (and former Atlanta drug dealer) Shawty Lo and the ten women who mothered his eleven children. According to The Daily Beast, the show has been axed before it even premieres due to the negative feedback the network received during “All My Babies’ Mamas” publicity campaign. Beast reports that Oxygen will announce the cancellation in the near future.
The backlash against “All My Babies’ Mamas” reached its zenith with a petition by Sabrina Lamb signed by nearly 40,000 people. Lamb told The Daily Beast:
“I love that the people who’ve signed the petition are from all backgrounds, ages, and countries. This one elderly white man wrote me and said even he was tired of the stereotypical images of black people [...] This show is about more than a rapper and his girlfriends. This is a show about kids who had no choice in how they came into the world. This show sets them up to be ridiculed and made fun of. None of us should be OK with that.’’
If the rumors are true, we hope the cancellation of “All My Babies’ Mamas” sends a message to networks with similar shows that they cannot continue to profit by exploiting minorities and perpetuating degrading stereotypes.
UPDATE: Oxygen has indeed cancelled the show. “As part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special,” an Oxygen spokesperson said in a statement to TheGrio. “We will continue to develop compelling content that resonates with our young female viewers and drives the cultural conversation.”
there are a lot of druggies in the white community. do you see that in the media?! Please.
Not at 70 percent and who gives a F about them? Try again.
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Oy vey, where to start.
1. Please put a disqualifier, not all black women support, promote or glorify baby mama-hood.
2. Black matriarchy? Where in the hell is black matriarchy happening because it’s most certainly not in the black community.
Black women being head of household does NOT = matriarchy. (read that over and over again until it seeps into your noggin)
Madam, you can’t possibly believe that BW are forcing men to abandon them and their children in droves in the name of matriarchy and feminism GMAFB If anything the BC is misogynists’ utopia.
3. I agree that for too many women reproductive responsibility is a foreign concept.
KIR (Keeping It Real) is a guy who posts the same response on whatever women’s website he decides to visit.
@Keepitreal
YOU are right a woman being Head of Household does not equal Black Matriarcy within itself. A divorce, widow or even grandmother can find themselves HOH through no fault of their own.
Black Matriarchy has become dominant in the black community by black women embracing “I don’t need a man” or the watered down PC black feminist version of “I don’t need a man” (Wait until your 30′s to get married) and extreme left liberal ideology of the devaluing the importance of marriage and men in the home. Which later in life becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. When has anyone ever accomplished something they say they don’t need? You see women do need a man and unfortunately by the time they figure it out it’s often too late for a variety of reasons kids, options available, age, appearance, baggage, set in their ways, ect. Black folks have been SUCCESSFULLY getting married young, growing and maturing together since the beginning of time.Now, all of a sudden it’s bad? lol
Yes, there are a few highly educated baller black women working 70+ hour a week who made some personal sacrifices for career but the percentage of black women with a degree (most in sociology and psychology) is only 18% and let’s be honest those aren’t the baby mamas. Over 80% of black women don’t have a degree. This I don’t need…. I can wait ideology has trickled down to young women with and w/o H.S. diplomas, unemployed or working low skill jobs such as cashiers, customers service or admin. who have zero interest in furthering their education. Many of these young women are in poverty on government assistance or living check to check. Many of them also are w/kid(s) and think they can also wait until they’re 30′s (out of their prime) to find a good husband. Good luck with that! End result a Self fulfilling prophecy …. Black Matriarchy.
@ EST. 1986
You’re actually a fan and believer. You just don’t know it yet. :-)
Don’t even flatter yourself like that, putinha
Yes, clearly this show is all about women’s self-empowerment.
Yeah, but its more than that.. while there may be a lot of unwed mothers in this country black & white (teen mom) this show is a minstrel show for the father (Sharpie Lo) and the mother’s of his children. They are subjecting their children to all sorts of ridicule, not only that it perpetuates that it is okay and normal for men to have multiple baby daddies, and for women to just open their legs to anyone. If they want to put crap like this on tv then they need to counter that with a black show that shows us in a positive light, and by positive I don’t mean the RHOA or Chicagolicious. All reality shows with black women play off of drama and that is it. Give Condeleeza Rice a reality show!
There are unwed baby mothers everywhere, all across the globe. Only one specific group is being targeted here. Besides, cant you read? Look at what the petition creator stated: “This show is about more than a rapper and his girlfriends. This is a show about kids who had no choice in how they came into the world. This show sets them up to be ridiculed and made fun of. None of us should be OK with that.’’
The bigger question is, why do you want a show to be shown GLOBALLY that endorses the denigration of blacks?
They do it too, RMFE. Unfortunately, blacks are denigrating themselves in today’s society.
IA and anyone who disagrees is obviously fooling themselves but the issue wasn’t about perpetuating stereotypes, at least not for me, the issue was once again another reality show chose to focus on negative aspect of the black comminity.