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Could Ogom “OG” Chijindu have remained on Basketball Wives if not for the large number of people who called out the cast’s treatment of her? Probably not.
The star knows the cast wouldn’t have had to address their behavior and take her claims of colorism seriously had it not been for the overwhelming support she received from viewers. Colorism has been a big topic as of late after rapper Mulatto was accused of making colorist comments (she said those accusations are false) and received even more push back over her name. When a user remarked that the grace they give her is not what’s offered to women of a darker complexion, a fan of OG’s agreed and brought her situation on Basketball Wives into the conversation.
“@iHeartOG from BBW was coded Aggressive to whitewash colorism,” the person commented. “When OG tried to call out Colorism it was a problem, no grace extended. Noone backed her until people realized she had an Army of supporters behind her.”
OG saw the tweet and agreed saying, “I find this to be accurate,” and “I thoroughly appreciate the support.”
We talked plenty on MN about the hypocrisy of Season 8. OG was indeed deemed “aggressive” and violent for verbally letting people know she was not the one to mess with, while a few of her co-stars acted out actual physical violence on multiple occasions. They made her a villain rather quickly in comparison to, say, Evelyn Lozada and Malaysia Pargo. They are lighter women known for fighting on the show whom she had no issue going toe-to-toe with. Things got so intense online in the conversation about OG’s treatment, including her being separated from the cast at the reunion, that a whole colorism discussion had to be filmed.
For executive producer, cast member and ringleader Shaunie O’Neal‘s part, she claimed there was no colorism issue and that she had no problem addressing some of her favorites when their behavior was out of line, too. This includes Lozada.
“When I have something to say to her, most times it’s not on camera because we talk all the damn time. So, you know, you guys say I don’t hold her accountable, yes the hell I do,” she said in October. “We talk about everything. When she did her thing in Costa Rica, literally, and she could tell you this, I told her, ‘You’re buggin’, that was too much.’ I told her she was going to want to go on vacation when that airs because she’s going to be mad at herself. Now, you know, it is what it is and it’s just entertainment guys. Don’t get so invested. You’re getting all of about three percent of our real lives. Trust me.”
When fans asked O’Neal, who has been known to want to fire people she’s clashed with (i.e., Brandi Maxiell), if O.G. was getting the boot, she emphatically said no.
“‘Did you fire OG?’ No!” she responded to a fan question last year. “OG is not fired for the record. Don’t know where that came from.”
So O.G. is back and currently filming Season 9 of the series, taking place in its own pandemic bubble. There are rumors that she is one of the two cast members who refuses to film with each other (the other being Lozada, who has a lawsuit against her). Despite that though, you can expect more of her bold, unapologetic personality, because she is not changing.
“I’m very direct, I’m very honest and sometimes people can’t handle that,” she said in a VH1 Fandemonium clip. “Oh well.”
