K. Michelle has stepped on a number of toes since she joined the cast of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta. Whether she was beefing with her co-stars or other reality stars, she’s never afraid to speak her mind. She brought that same candidness to our exclusive interview with her. See what she had to say about everybody from Rasheeda’s husband Kirk to Tamar Braxton.

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thatgrapejuice.tv

It took a long time for television execs to hop on the reality show bandwagon after MTV debuted the format with The Real World in 1992 but nowadays, it seems that reality shows are the norm. Not only have reality shows provided a way for networks to deliver cheaper programming, but they have provided another level of exposure to those folks who may never have been heard before.

Case in point: before reality TV, mainstream audiences got their slangs and Black sayings from hip-hop music – the only medium where Black folks were able to wax unfiltered. But now, reality shows have helped Black folks once again expand their reach into popular culture. How? By allowing the Tamis, Evelyns, Tamars and Chrissys of the world to express themselves freely. Their creative way of words has etched their sayings onto the minds of many, and we’ve selected the funniest and most resonant sayings that have emerged from these reality television characters.

Reality television is a complicated business. Some shows get immensely popular and springboard everyday people into celebrity stardom, but that fast track to Hollywood isn’t for everyone. However, there are those lucky ones who manage to build their brands, or expand their existing empires, based on their participation in America’s guilty pleasures. While some reality stars make little to no money at all—the average is about $5,000 a month—personalities who appear on popular shows like The Real Housewives franchise can make $8,000 and up per episode, and millions of dollars beyond their TV presence alone. It’s reported that the Real Housewives of New York racked in $75,000 per episode last season, while the Kim Kardashian and her family recently signed a deal worth an estimated $40 million for three more seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. With millions of dollars floating around in the “real worlds,”BlackEnterprise.com Decodes the financial gain of some of reality TV’s most notable personas. —Starrene Rhett Rocque

Check out who these millionaire reality stars are at BlackEnterprise.com

Ahhh, reality television. What did we do without it? I personally can’t imagine my life without the ratchetness of Love & Hip Hop, The Housewives of Every City, Basketball Wives, The Braxtons and… well, you get the gist. Although reality television offers a very orchestrated look into the lives of “average” folks and celebrities, there are some lessons to be learned from the trials and tribulations of cast members. Here’s what I learned personally:

By Selam Aster

It may be a bad economy for most folks but one thing’s for sure, hoes be winning these days. From Kim Kardashian to Amber Rose to Evelyn Lozada, women with sex tapes and high-profile affairs under their belts have given hope to a new class of social climbers thanks to reality television. Sadly enough, many young girls and women no longer have to aspire to achieving success via education or traditional entrepreneurship.

It was funny at first, seeing these basketball mistresses, strippers turned Flavor of Love contestants, video groupies and sex-tape having, publicity hounds with last names that start with K get some shine on TV. But now, it’s obvious that reality television has degraded society’s standards.

Watching Draya, the resident ex-stripper/groupie, on the Basketball Wives LA show on Vh1, talk about being a career woman dedicated to taking care of her son and her mother as a single mother herself on last night’s reunion special, I couldn’t help but laugh at how she made such a show about “working hard.” I guess this is the new image of working hard; getting a boob job, posing naked for men’s magazines, leaking a sex tape, and having the luck of landing a reality show documenting one’s trivial squabbles with frenemies. Yes, we’re officially in the Kardashian era.

I can’t hate on these women for making their money. No sirree. By all means, do what you gotta do. What I can’t appreciate, however, is how these women, many of which have married into money or capitalized from exposing their assets, praise themselves for “working hard.” The media is no better in terms of feeding into the idea that gold-digging is a sport.

The only message that comes through in the stardom of these women is that with a bit of plastic surgery and a dash of luck, you too may be able to just ditzily stumble onto millions. I’m not a staunch feminist, but I do know that everyone who has ever capitalized off a sex tape or who has invested in marrying a baller cannot be credited with setting a good example.
Since the barrier to entry for the next Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Draya or Superhead is so low, we now have more and more young girls abandoning the idea of education in hopes that they can hit it big with reality television, where the raunchier your past, the better your future seems to be for a potentially short-lived yet lucrative shot at celebrity.

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Reality TV – you gotta love it. Who would’ve thunk that when MTV debuted The Real World in 1992 that reality television would soon take over the airwaves? Today, it’s not only a source of entertainment for viewers but also a source of money and fame for the celebrities and commoners who choose to expose their day-to-day lives to the cameras. For the most part, reality TV has served its stars well. Many women on the Housewives series produced by Bravo have been able to plug their small businesses and have racked up enough money to divorce their husbands (yes Nene, we talking about you) and many who had no talent whatsoever have been able to capitalize on their pure personalities (yes Nene, we still talking about you). Nevertheless, there are casualties.

For those who walk onto a show with nothing to lose If you walk onto a show with nothing to lose, then it usually works for you. But if you came into the reality television with an ounce of dignity and a lot of pride, then you may have not totally benefited from reality TV a la Kim Kardashian.