Source: Steve Eichner / Getty
Damon Dash is at odds with eOne’s “Growing Up Hip Hop” franchise and his issue is largely in part to his belief that white networks have been trying to exploit his deceased partner, R&B singer Aaliyah. Over the weekend, the producer shared a video on his Instagram page in which he appears to be lashing out at producers during filming.
“You think you’re going to f***ing exploit me when it comes to Aaliyah?” he can be heard shouting. “I kept telling Tara to stop.”
In the caption of the video, he went on to call out eOne president, Tara Long, stating:
“This is how I treat racist like Tara long from @eone_tv when she was trying to exploit my story with Aaliyah for @lifetimetv my question is …why is it that the only way a black person’s story can only be told on a network only if it goes through a white production company or it won’t get told…let’s get to that…but at the end of the day this is how I been treating racist…luck them out your house and do it yourself @damedashstudios #staytuned.”
This isn’t the first time networks have been accused of trying to profit off of the late singer. Many were displeased with Lifetime’s 2014 Aaliyah biopic, Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B. They were also criticized in 2019 for including Aaliyah in the “Surviving R.Kelly” docuseries.
“These lies and fabrications cannot be tolerated and allowed to be spewed from the forked tongues of saboteurs of Aaliyah’s legacy,” Aaliyah’s mother, Diane Houghton, said in a statement at the time.
It’s unclear exactly what went down between Damon and producers before the cameras started rolling, but from what we can gather, they pressed him a little too hard about his relationship with Aaliyah.
