This was posted Monday, July 17, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio &TV Talk blog
The season 6 reunion finale ended quietly. The most compelling part was Joseline Hernandez outside the New York City studio refusing to go in at the outset.
Bottom line: Joseline wanted to only be in the room with Jessica Dime, Melissa Scott and Stevie J, the only trio she could tolerate. She didn't want to be goaded into acting ugly while she has movie deals and other opportunities on the horizon. (She had a recurring role on Fox's "Star" last season.)
When the producers noted her contractual obligation to be at the reunion, she refused to back down. Joseline is defiance, crassness and arrogance all rolled into one compellingly repulsive package.
"F*** your contract," she said to the cameras. "I'm going to be in films and movies. Kiss my f****** a**... I can focus on my business. I'm good."
She entered her limo and gave this parting gift: "F*** 'Love and Hip Hop.' I AM f******* 'Love and Hip Hop'! I'm the Puerto Rican Princess. It's going to take God to come down and slow me down."
Stevie J, back in the studio, really believes she's not coming back season seven. We'll see how much moulah the producers are willing to throw at her to keep her around. The reality is she has been a major straw that has stirred this show's success. She knows it. The producers know it. But has she worn out her welcome after all these years?
Stevie J noted that rightly that it's an ensemble show, not the Joseline show. It can live without Joseline, he said, though for him, it's like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippin no longer on the same team. (I wonder if he thinks he's Jordan or Pippin?) "It's the end of an era for me,' he said.
Mimi Faust, for one, is glad to see her go, noting that Joseline actually called child services on Mimi over a lie. "What she did was disgusting," Mimi said. "I do not want that f******* woman around my kid. EVER."
She said Joseline is capable of any level of horrors. "There is no ceiling," Mimi said. "She has no cap."
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Other storylines quickly broached:
- Estelita wants to use Stevie J (and the show) to propel her career. We shall see. The editors did show an amusing video of Estelita giving Stevie J a dance that looked similar to something Joseline did season one. Will they smash? Have they smashed? Mimi, for one, is fine with that. In fact, as Stevie noted, she seemed quite interested in Estelita, ahem. "I'd much rather have her as my daughter's stepmom," Mimi said. "She's cool."
- The very loud Lovely Mimi got some love during the reunion, showing that her return for season 7 is likely.
- Tommie Lee had a hard time even answering a simple question about her mom Samantha, who wasn't there. She didn't like to be vulnerable in that setting. She blamed that opening scene this season where her mom got into a row with her right after she got back from prison as damaging to their relationship. Tommie's still working on it but it's clear they have a long way to go.
- Karen "KK" King felt like Tommie should be more grateful toward her for getting her on "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta." Instead, Tommie has some beef toward KK and gets to riled, the guards escort her off the stage although King wasn't even in the building but via Skype.
- Scrappy says he is now living in Miami and still pines for Bambi in one sense but seems okay with his single status. But at least Momma Dee and her husband Ernest are doing well.
- Melissa Scott really thinks Ariane poisoned her relationship with Mimi, that Ariane is jealous of her, calling her opportunistic, offering no proof of whatever that means. And Melissa ultimately gave some shade to Ariane to her face, saying, "You offer nothing to me" and calling her "evil." Her conclusion: "You're not a good person."
