By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed January 4, 2013
Atlanta rapper’s Oxygen special “All My Babies’ Mamas,’ which has yet to get a specific air date in the spring, is already receiving heavy backlash.
Why? He has had 11 children with 10 different women in what one person is calling “ghetto polygamy.” Here’s the original Oxygen press release from Dec. 26:
"Oxygen will give fans an intimate look at unconventional families with larger than life personalities and real emotional stakes," says Cori Abraham, Senior Vice President of Development, Oxygen Media. "'All My Babies' Mamas' will be filled with outrageous and authentic over-the-top moments that our young, diverse female audience can tweet and gossip about."
This bold new series shows every second of the drama-filled lives surrounding a unique "modern" family unit, as they navigate their financially and emotionally connected lives. As the household grows, sometimes so does the dysfunction, leaving the man of the house to split his affection multiple ways while trying to create order. With humor and heart, this dynamically linked family must find a way to all get along… but sharing your man with several opinionated women is bound to create issues. Will there be a conflict over a family holiday, who needs school supplies and who holds the household finance purse strings, or can these feisty babies' mamas band together and live peacefully as one family unit?
"All My Babies' Mamas" was brought to Oxygen by Executive Producers Liz Gateley and Tony DiSanto, and will be produced by their company, DiGa Vision.
There are multiple petitions on change.org asking Oxygen to kill the program before it even airs.
The biggest one, posted by New York's Sabrina Lamb, now exceeds 13,000 names. In part, it reads:
As dysfunctional and violent as so-called reality shows are, could you ever imagine a one hour spectacle where 11 children are forced to witness their 10 unwed mothers clamor for financial support, emotional attention and sexual reward from Shawty-Lo, the apathetic 'father'?
Could you imagine that Oxygen Media, known for violent programming targeting young women with stereotypical images, would consider the embarrassment that these children will experience, being used as entertainment?
Could you imagine that Oxygen Media, would use a slur against mothers, fathers and children and entitle this debacle, "All My Babies' Mamas"? Cori Abraham, Oxygen Media, Senior Vice President of Development wrote in a press release: "…..over-the-top moments that our young, diverse female audience can tweet and gossip about….leaving the man of the house to split his affection multiple ways while trying to create order… but sharing your man with several opinionated women is bound to create issues."
Tragically, this day has come.
What is the difference between this train wreck and the other reality trash which clog the airwaves?
THE CHILDREN!….OUR CHILDREN!
And it is these children…our children who will hold all of us accountable by allowing them to be exploited, internationally, in this manner. Our children will suffer from these negativity and for someone like you standing up for them and saying:
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
What You Can Do?
"Sign today to tell Oxygen that their viewers will not tolerate a show that exploits and stereotypes Black children and families, and we will boycott any advertiser who chooses to support the show."
Another, led by Shericka Johnson, has compiled 808 names, as of this writing.
Why are we praising the demeaning behavior of "baby momma's" living together as a modern form of polygamy with one man?
Oxygen released a statement:
"Oxygen's one-hour special in development is not meant to be a stereotypical representation of everyday life for any one demographic or cross section of society. It is a look at one unique family and their complicated, intertwined life. Oxygen Media's diverse team of creative executives will continue developing the show with this point of view."
Shawty Lo whose real name is Carlos Walker, is hardly a big star. He's has one 2008 album and a single top 10 rap hit to his name. He was also part of a group called D4L which had a novelty No. 1 hit in 2005 "Laffy Taffy."
But he obviously know show to woo the women and appears to have never met a condom he’s ever liked.
One more: here's a Syracuse University professor Dr. Boyce Watkins' thoughts. It ends with this:
Let's go ahead and kill the stupidity so Shawty Lo's children can become better parents than him. Also, this story is a reminder that we must show appreciation to those powerful men who take their parental obligations seriously. They don't get the recognition they deserve, and they will never get a reality show. So, if there is a strong black man in your life, please go and tell him "thank you."
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