Source: Instagram

During Monday night’s episode of VH1′s The Gossip Game, journalist JasFly garnered a few questionable looks when she revealed to her co-star K.Foxx that she didn’t really consider herself a dark-skinned woman. Her comment appeared to shock viewers and K.Foxx, who told her, “You are dark-skinned” and “You just seem like you’re in denial.” Since the premiere of that episode, the outspoken columnist has received some pretty harsh criticism from viewers who also believe that she’s in denial about her skin complexion. In response to her critics, the reality star fired off a handful of tweets in regard to the debate.

She also composed a blog post titled, “I am Not Leaving You,” in which she discussed the controversy, explaining that she doesn’t identify with any complexion because she just considers herself to be Black. An excerpt from her post reads:

“Last night, episode 7 of The Gossip Game began with a scene between K Foxx and myself at ooVoo. I’d seen her interview with the beautiful Brittany Sky, the lead from Kendrick’s ‘Poetic Justice’ video and posed a question that unfortunately didn’t make it into the episode: Don’t you feel that ‘colorism’ in any form (light over dark or dark over light) is wrong?

It was that question that began the exchange that was aired. K Foxx felt passionately that the mass mistreatment of darker African-Americans (particularly women) warranted some recompense and was puzzled why I didn’t feel the same. She was sure I’d experienced some of the same color-biased disrespect that she’s encountered over the years.

But I haven’t. On my best days my skin is a glowy pecan, on the average day I’m more the color of a Popeye’s chicken breast. My skin sits between two shades of most foundations (this told to me repeatedly by accomplished make-up artists). I choose the darker so that even when I sweat, I won’t look ashy. I don’t consider myself dark skin or light skin. I’m fully aware that the color-bias does exist both ways, and it angers me but I’ve never experienced it first hand. I’ve always simply fallen in the middle. I’m brown. I’m never included in the discussion. And I’ve never really been told that I’m ‘dark skin’…Until K Foxx.

By this afternoon hundreds of viewers had made a point to tweet/Instagram/FB message me. The comments ranged from, ‘how could you be ashamed of your dark skin?’ to ‘girl you are not lightskin’ to my personal favorite, ‘You’re darkskin, if this were slavery you’d be in the field with the rest of us.’

Our faith in VH1′s upcoming TLC biopic keeps growing stronger and stronger with every new photo we see of the cast. The network just released a few new promo photos of  Drew Sidora, Keke Palmer, and Lil Mama as T-Boz, Chilli, and Left-Eye and you can’t say they don’t at least look the part of the hottest girl group of the ’90s.

People who questioned Keke Palmer, and any of the girl’s abilities, to pull off these roles should feel silly now looking at how well they’ve been able to physically transform into the parts. Of course we have yet to see what acting skills they’re bringing to the table, but Drew and Keke have already proven themselves in other major movies, so we have no reason to expect less from them this time around.

Despite all the promo shots we’ve seen lately, we still have about six months until the final project. VH1 is expected to air the biopic this November and I’m personally anxious to see how well Evan Ross transforms into Dallas Austin. Donny Boaz will also play TLC’s manager Bill Diggins, Carl Anthony Payne II is playing Antonio ’L.A.’ Reid, and Rochelle Aytes has been cast as Perri ’Pebbles’ Reid.

Check out another pick of the girls in character below. Are you getting excited about the movie?

Source: Instagram

Last week rumors of an ugly break-up between Basketball Wives producer Shaunie O’Neal and her very young, model boyfriend Marlon Yates began to swirl. It all started when Marlon posted two photos that carried some very questionable messages to his Instagram account. The wording on one of the photos read:

“Don’t get mad when I pull a you.”

The other photo depicted actor Mekhi Phifer in a scene from the popular Paid In Full movie. On top of the photo was a message that read:

“F*** out of here with that you love me sh**.”

Some perceived the seemingly random photo messages as some sort of cryptic memo or subliminal shot that Marlon was sending to his lady and break-up rumors soon followed. The couple has since come forward to slam the rumors and let the world know that they are still together.

“It’s not ok to make up stories about someone’s life and you haven’t even spoken with them. At first I was really upset. But now I have to just laugh,” Shaunie told Hip Hollywood.

“I’m just having fun on Instagram. But, if you want to know what’s going on with me and my relationship just call me, don’t just lie,” Marlon added.

Of course, no Shaunie O’Neal interview would be complete without a Basketball Wives plug. The mom of five went on to reveal that the world will be offered a glimpse into her relationship with Marlon when Season 5 of  the show airs in August.

What do you think of Shaunie and Marlon responding to break-up rumors?

If you’ve caught only one episode of “The Gossip Game” this season, you’d know that journalists, bloggers, and radio personalities are not above falling victim to the set-up of reality TV. Already we’ve seen the ladies argue, nearly fight, and apparently spit on one another all in the name of getting to the top. After watching things unravel, we had no choice but to ask writer Jas Fly if she thinks the ladies’ behavior contributes to the glass ceiling women experience in the hip-hop industry. Here’s what she had to say.

Source: VH1

We know you all remember Jen the Pen’s famous words on the last season of “Love & Hip-Hop New York” when she told Raqi Thunda she was white and it would get done. The “it” was getting a new job after the two radio hosts realized they couldn’t work together — based on the fact that Raqi liked to throw it at whoever came in the studio and Jen had no clue what to ask artists — but now it appears the reality star has made good on her declaration since VH1 decided to give her a job outside of her reality gig.

Yup, the network who put her and her foolishness on in the first place has now named Jen the host of “Very VH1.” Apparently this is an interactive chat show that the channel is rebooting this morning with its “charming new host.” The way the show works is Jen will basically be skyping on the computer with different guests and viewers can also hop on their cameras to ask questions and make comments as well. According to VH1′s blog, for the premiere show airing at 10 am EST this morning, “ Jen dives into some of the biggest pop culture stories and chats with Off Pitch stars Rob Jones and Tim Rortvedt.”

So far there aren’t a lot of details about how often the show will air or who else might appear as a guest. I just wonder what Raqi Thunda is doing right now…

What do you think about VH1 giving Jen a web show?

Source(s): WENN, VH1

Last summer we told you that the talented Kimberly Elise would be starring in a new VH1 scripted series titled Bounce, which was said to follow the lives of members of professional basketball dance team, the Los Angeles Devil Girls. A quick description of the series found in the network’s press release reads:

“Bounce is a series that follows the alluring lives and loves of the Los Angeles Devil Girls, the premiere dance team in all of professional basketball. The Los Angeles Devils are the number one team in the league. When the stadium lights go up at night all of Hollywood comes out to support the million dollar players; but in this city these men share the fame, adrenalin, money, sex and power with their dancers, the Devil Girls.”

There hasn’t really been much talk of the series since news of production planning first leaked last summer. Well, until now that is. We’ve just learned that the series is scheduled to debut next month! May 27th to be exact. It also underwent a name change and is now titled Hit the Floor. In case you’re wondering where Kimberly Elise comes in, according to VH1, she will be playing Sloane, who is the mother of one of the dancers.

“At its heart is Ahsha, a sheltered young woman who joins the team against the wishes of her mother Sloane, who knows this treacherous, tempting world all too well having been a Devil Girl herself. Olivia is the shrewd squad manager, Jelena is the star dancer who won’t let anyone else share the spotlight and Pete Davenport is the former All-Star who’s come back to coach his old team.”

Elise’s co-stars include Taylour Paige, Charlotte Ross, Logan Browninghas and Dean Cain. The series is directed by Sanaa Hamri. As previously stated, Hit the Floor debuts Monday, May 27th at 9/8c and according to Shadow and Act, is said to be ”VH1′s biggest scripted effort to date.”

So, will you watch?

Turn the page to see Hit the Floor’s official extended trailer.

If you thought the crazy couldn’t get any deeper when it comes to Love and Hip Hop Atlanta, you must not know about wine-sipping-out-of-a-straw Momma Dee.

While we were somewhere preparing to tune in to the premiere of the new season, Lil Scrappy was on his way to jail. Why you ask? According to TMZ, the rapper refused to take a urine test as part of his probation back in March after he allegedly tried to submit a sample of urine that was cold and appeared to have been tampered with. So basically, he had something in his system he didn’t want his probation officer to know about. In the end though, a warrant was issued for his arrest because of the incident and he coincidentally turned himself in the day his show was set to come back for a second season. Along with him was his fiancée Erica, the VH1 cameras (you know Mona wouldn’t miss a beat), and his mother of course, Momma Dee. Dressed up, she arrived to see her son off and after he was put in custody, she got in front of the few cameras there and whipped out a homemade tee to support her son that said, “FREE SCRAPPY-in that order….” Guess she felt like there was no better time than the present.

So now that you know the background, how would you caption this photo? Feel free to use some of her signature lines from the show because I know a few that could work right now…

Photo courtesy of TMZ/Prince Williams/ATLPics

Source: Twitter

Back when we first reported on Mona Scott-Young’s newest reality show The Gossip Game, some of you expressed that you were interested in the show and hoped that it would be different from other trash TV programs clogging the airways.  The show certainly appeared to offer promise of positivity, as it would portray women of color living out their dreams and making advancements in their professions. Unfortunately, the first two episodes did more to shed light on drama and bickering that occurred between the ladies than offering informative depictions of the characters making strides in the world of media. Following the debut of the show’s second episode, cast member JasFly took to her personal Tumblr page to address the drama and express how she realized that Mona Scott-Young isn’t really responsible for the fighting that goes on between the women on her shows. An excerpt from her post reads:

“I’m tired of watching Black women fight on TV.

We’re two episodes into The Gossip Game and last night we witnessed our second fight. Sigh.

When I accepted Mona Scott-Young’s invitation to sit down for a casting meeting, I was more than skeptical. This was three weeks into Love & Hip Hop ATL and all that kept running through my mind was ‘she’s not gonna do me like she does these other women.’ And as soon as I sat down – in front of Vh1 execs, show creator Tone Boots and his team and the network casting department – I told her as much.

Within the first two weeks of filming the first ‘argument’ happened [...] I’d known Ms. Drama for a few years and although we’d never spent an extended period of time alone, I’d never known her to get into it with anyone. I was surprised. And immediately I blamed Mona. Here we go. So now we’re going to be out here looking crazy.

Full disclosure: I’ve been in New York for 4 years and I’ve been blessed to make some great friends but I’ve also picked up a handful of…detractors. That’s normal. We’re adults playing in a high-stakes/high-stress industry. But what I realized is 70% of these detractors were women of color. And 50% of those began as friends and or associates.

We all know the drill: you’re cool with another woman at first and then something happens, or nothing happens and one person feels a way and somehow (often over something minute) there’s now a ‘thing’ between you. But instead of addressing it and moving on, (usually) one woman has to try to turn everybody else against you – because she’s not secure enough to be alone with her feelings. And before you know it an entire clique has formed – bonded over the dislike of one woman.

The second fight happened at Bottles & Strikes [...]

As they escorted the camera crew out, Mike Kyser – someone I’ve respected professionally for years – came over and said ‘what kind of show are you making?’ It was embarrassing. I’m trying to do something I could be proud of, and this wasn’t it.

Sometimes, we as Black women don’t treat one another very well. Societal factors have made us defensive and (often times) insecure about who we are and afraid of who we are not. We’ve been told that we’re all in competition over men, jobs, friends, adoration, etc. And because we are such an insular culture – Black woman are known for watching/dating/buying/talking/living in our Blackness – we turn a great deal of frustration back on one another. We’re so hyper-sensitive to criticism (because we’re SO over criticized)that in the moment we often can’t discern between someone attacking us and someone trying to help us. It’s hard to see kinship in someone you’re determined to make your enemy. So (often times) we fight.

I couldn’t get mad at Mona for the fights that happened between Drama and Viv. Not when I was dealing with the very same things (via toxic email threads, vicious sub-tweets, subversive moves against me etc) in my own life. Mona didn’t make those two women fight. In that moment, instead of risking being hurt or hearing something they didn’t want to, they chose to antagonize one another. This choice is made every single day. And I couldn’t expect Mona to create a television show about us and ask her not to show all of it, including the parts we’re not proud of. “

Would you say she has a point?

We already know it’s hard for women to make it in a man’s world on merit alone, and if anyone knows that for sure it’s Kim Osorio. The Editor-in-Chief of “The Source” and star of VH1′s latest reality TV show, “The Gossip game,” has been haunted by rumors that she mixed a lot of business and pleasure in order to get her coveted spot at the top of the masthead and that a suspect relationship with 50 Cent is where it all began.

MN decided to go straight to the source (pun intended) and see just how this hip-hop journalism staple made her way to the top of the gossip game. Check out what she had to say.

Source: VH1

Monday night, the first episode of VH1′s newest reality show, The Gossip Game debuted. When we first reported on the show, some of you expressed that you were excited about its debut, as you expected that a reality show starring seven career-driven women would offer positivity. Others revealed that they expected nothing more than another ratchet reality show with a different name, concocted in the mind of media maven, Mona Scott-Young. Considering all of the backbiting, public screaming matches and verbal assassinations that went down, the premiere episode proved that drama is to be expected this season. But is that all we can expect from the show that once offered promise of positive images of Black women on television? In a recent VH1 blog post, The Gossip Game star and host of Power 105.1′s The Breakfast Club, Angela Yee discussed the show’s first episode. In the blog, the radio personality expressed that the show was actually supposed to rise above the craziness that we’re used to seeing on other reality television programs. An excerpt from her post reads:

“Why would you agree to do a reality show? That’s the first question I get in almost every interview. It seems that everyone and their mama has a show now, or is working on a pilot for a show, or has an idea for a show that could work. There’s a stigma about reality shows and the people who star in them. Reality shows mean your career will end, your marriage will be cursed, you have to fight and/or throw a drink, or you’re going to end up broke and a has-been when the series ends. Only a slim percentage of people will go on to profit and reap the benefits.

When I interviewed Marlon Wayans, he pulled me to the side after and warned me not to get into a fight or act crazy on TV. Of course, that was never my intention. I’ve seen people “turn up” for the camera, thinking that this is the best way to maximize their platform and get more camera time. This formula works, but it’s shortsighted. When the season ends, where do you go?

The Gossip Game is supposed to defy this formula. There are 7 women who have their careers and reputations on the line. After working over 8 years in radio to build my brand, I would never want to misrepresent myself. I’ve had to deal with racism, sexism, rumors, malice, a little bit of everything. I’m used to being around men at work all the time, and dealing with a cast of women is a completely different arena.”

So far, the show doesn’t exactly appear to be much different from any other reality television show, but I suppose that could eventually change.

Did you check out The Gossip Game? What do you think of the show so far?