If you caught the two-part season finale of “Basketball Wives LA” you’d know Malaysia had to stand her ground more than a few times. After getting questioned about her relevancy on the show, she didn’t have a problem letting a viewer know that her marital status alone makes her relevant to the VH1 reality show, plus she had a few choice words for the Govan sisters about their behavior this season.

Well, now that the hype of the show has settled down, Malaysia chatted with Madame Noire to tell us what really happens between her and the girls once the cameras stop rolling and just how much she doesn’t care about the petty drama between her cast mates. Check out what she had to say.

On the season premiere of “Lala’s Full Court Life,” there was an issue brewing with Carmelo’s female assistant and questions of whether she might be sleeping with Melo when he’s on the road away from Lala. By the end of the episode, Lala confronted the assistant but the way the whole thing went down left viewers wondering, what was that about?

Lala recently stopped by the Breakfast Club to talk about the situation and host Angela Yee told Lala she was disappointed in her taking advice from her co-host Charlamagne. She also asked whether she already assumed Carmelo was creeping and if people around her buzzing in her ear is what made her finally snap.

“I didn’t have any doubts with her but when you consistently hear something over and over you wonder why is everybody saying this, am I under a rock or something?” Lala said.

“When everybody was bringing it up, it just brought more attention to it, but I’m not an insecure person.”

Charlamagne got all in her business again and brought up Lala mentioning she doesn’t even have time to have sex with her husband and said in many men’s eyes, that gives them a “hall pass” to cheat. That made Lala address the rumors of her and Melo having an open relationship.

“Not in my marriage. It ain’t no hall pass. There’s no open relationship. There’s none of that going on in my marriage.”

But is Carmelo’s assistant a threat to their relationship? According to Lala, she’s not now and she never was.

“That girl doesn’t even believe in sex before marriage,” Lala said, shrugging off any suggestions Asani keeps Melo company on the road. “I didn’t have any doubts with her.”

So as suspected, the whole opening episode was fabricated relationship drama. Good to know.

Check out the rest of Lala’s interview here. Do you believe secure radio show Lala or insecure reality TV Lala?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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I’ll be honest, I feel like Lala is my celebrity BFF. Last season I only watched her show because it filled a gap somewhere in between my Monday night TV lineup, but after a few episodes I realized she wasn’t boring, she was the type of down to earth, unwaveringly loyal friend, mother, and wife of a pro athlete that I think I would really like in real life. Her show and her personality definitely grew on me. With the premiere of season 2 last night, I was pretty excited to see a group of girls hanging out together, sharing laughs, and catching up—especially after the foolishness that came on before her show—but unfortunately that’s not exactly what I got.

Overall, the premiere episode was decent, but there was just a hint of artificial drama bubbling below the surface that I could have done without and that I hope won’t be a running theme throughout the entire season. The premise of last night’s episode was doubt; a more appropriate title would be instigated insecurity. From concerns over Carmelo hanging out at strip clubs to him sleeping with his young, female assistant, Lala suddenly became insecure and paranoid about Melo’s fidelity all because a few friends and associates were putting thoughts in her head—so much so that she decided to confront his assistant, Asani, while out to dinner and blatantly ask, “are you sleeping with my man?”

In all honesty, I think the drama over the whole assistant situation was half real and have reality TV. Carmelo is an athlete who travels regularly, and well, these two didn’t make it on MN’s chemistry clash list for no reason. He always seems less than half-interested in Lala (from an outside, sitting on my couch looking at this couple once a week on the TV point of view) which would make you think he’s more interested in someone else. But I also think the producers felt the need to try to introduce a female cattiness element and they got the cast on board with it, which bothers me.

This is one of the few reality shows that proves women can actually enjoy one another’s company on a consistent basis without tossing drinks, pulling hair, or calling someone out their name—keep it that way. Of course, you can never put cheating and sneakiness past anyone, but there was nothing about Asani doing her job that made any viewer question whether Melo might be tapping that on his away trips. And as Asani talked about it being sad that a woman can’t be beautiful and proficient at her job without there being speculations of her sleeping her way to the top, it’s equally sad if VH1 thinks it can’t garner enough viewers without inserting fabricated drama to see two women go at it.  As I recapped the episode to my real best friend she kept asking, “So what did Carmelo say when Lala asked him about sleeping with his assistant?” And for the twelfth time I told her, as far as we saw, she didn’t ask. That’s because the whole show was about trying to cook up beef between these women for no reason. Luckily, even in that short segment of confrontation on-screen, no one got beside themselves. Unfortunately, it looks like they may down the line.

In the preview of what’s to come this season, there was an interesting spot where Lala and Po get in each other’s face asking “who you callin’ a b****,” and then Lala slaps her. Initially, I thought you can’t be serious, but after seeing that part over and over after watching all three encore presentations of the show last night (because that’s what I do) the scene almost looks totally fake to me, as if they are rehearsing for an acting job or something—except that slap looked pretty hard. Either way, it’s what VH1 thought would draw viewers in to see what drama unfolds between Lala and her main girl so they put it in the teaser footage. And you can’t really be surprised considering the success of its “Basketball Wives” series which makes a killing off of girl fights.

I’m going to keep giving Lala a chance because I think she’s smart enough to know being a drink-tossing, b-word slanging basketball wife is not only not a good look, but not a smart move professionally—not to mention the antithesis of who she appears to be in real life. But money does talk rather loudly so I hope she hasn’t buckled too much to pressure from the network to up the drama factor on her show.

What did you think about the season premiere? Did the drama seem a bit contrived? Do you plan on tuning in for the rest of the season?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Last season of “Lala’s Full Court Life” was all about Carmelo’s big move to the New York Knicks and Lala attempting to expand her career in front of the camera, but now that the couple has settled into life in the big apple, it seems there may be trouble in paradise on season 2.

VH1 has released a super trailer for the upcoming season of the show, and it looks like Lala is struggling more than ever to stay connected to Carmelo with both of their busy schedules. In the same way that Lala is feeling neglected by Melo, Lala’s ride-or-die girls, Po and Dice, seem to be feeling like red-headed step children while Lala’s career takes off. Kelly Rowland, Monica, Christina Millian, and tons of Lala’s other friends will also make guest appearances this season as we watch Lala try to balance being a mother, entrepreneur, and wife of an athlete, while still managing to have fun with the girls.

Initially, I couldn’t get into Lala’s show last season, but after four or five episodes I really started to like her down to earth personality and her loyalty. I’m just hoping all is well with her marriage.

Season 2 of ‘Lala’s Full Court Life’ debuts Monday, March 19, at 9pm. Check out the trailer and tell us what you think. Do you plan on watching?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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While baby mamas, side pieces, ex-girlfriends, and jump-offs of basketball players pull crazy stunts to appear on TV every week with the titled of so-called basketball wives, Lala Anthony, an actual wife of a basketball player, says the title isn’t one to be taken lightly.

The wife of Carmelo Anthony covers the latest issue of YRB Magazine, and inside she talks about everything from her reality shows to being a role model to her career aspirations, and of course, being a basketball wife. Check out highlights of the interview:

On Being a Basketball Wife

“I’m married to a basketball player. I love being [Carmelo’s] wife, so I don’t look at it as a negative thing. I think it’s just like anything else and what you are doing with whatever title you have. I’m a lot of other things, too, so that’s not the only thing that defines me.

“It’s an honor. Something like that comes with work. You are not going to be labeled that by just sitting around with Louboutins on and not doing anything. I want to get out there as I have been and make a difference in N.Y.”

On Her Personal Image and Lala’s Full Court Life

“I like that people think I’m so down to earth and real because that’s how I really am and I want to show that on the show, and also show that my life isn’t perfect. I go through things like everybody else. When there is a bad moment and you want to turn the cameras off, that’s not reality. I don’t want to do that.”

On Emulating Her Career After Oprah

“She started in radio; I started in radio. She produced; I produced Tyson. She has done acting. She has done branding – she’s done everything.There was a time when people only wanted you doing one thing. If you are a host, you are only a host, only an actress, only a singer… And now, in this day and age, it’s about doing a lot of things and being good at all of them. I just want to prove that one person can be good at a lot of different things.”

On Being a Role Model

“I don’t have to think about being a role model or doing things a certain way because all I do is really just be myself, and so far, that’s worked for me,” she says. The responsibilities might become overwhelming for another personality, but it’s all in a day’s work for La La. ”This is what comes with the territory of who I am. I would never complain about it. It’s a blessing to be in this position and do something that I love. I’m happy with my life, I’m happy with the position I’m in, and I’m happy to be in a position 
to help others and be a role model to girls out there. That’s a wonderful thing.”

Check out the rest of her profile on YRB.

Do you think Lala sets a good example of a basketball wife and reality TV star?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Carmen Murray with business partners, Michael Michel and Diallobe photo courtesy of Lauren N. Dennis, www.laurenndennis.com

“4 AM” by Melanie Fiona, video footage courtesy of SRC/Universal Republic

The game has changed; and according to about 99% of the people who are sick of basketball wives’ antics, the change is not for the better.

Tanya Young, ex-wife of New Jersey Nets player Jayson Williams, recently talked to the Daily Beast about the difference between dating an athlete now and when she first met her ex in the 90s.

“When I met and married Jayson 20 years ago, the wives and girlfriends received no attention at all. No one cared who they were married to or who they were dating.

“No one noticed you, but today all you have to do is go on two dates with an NBA player and you’re a star, too. It’s a strange new world, and these young girls get very caught up in the fame more than anything.”

I just had a vision of a young Jackie Christie if things were the way they are today when she met Doug. Can you imagine that?

Tanya says even women who marry players for love have no idea how difficult it is being with someone who’s admired by so many as she talked about sleeping with a knife under her pillow before her husband was eventually sent to jail for killing a limo driver in 2002.

For a lot of women, it seems the shoes and handbags outweigh the negatives of having a professional athlete for a husband, Tanya says.

“young girls today that marry these guys won’t listen to anyone. I’ve tried to pass on what I know, but these young girls pay you no mind.”

Well the men better start paying Kobe some mind and make sure they don’t get caught up without a pre-nup.

Do you think athlete’s wives should go back to being seen and not heard?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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