Is It Too Late? VH1 Promises No (More) Excessive Physical Confrontations on Basketball Wives
VH1 and Shed Media may be a day late and several dollars short now that viewers and advertisers have started to pull out of “Basketball Wives” and the “Chad and Ev” spinoff. The Change.org petition to boycott the shows is now up to just under 26,000 signatures and news that Summer’s Eve has pulled out of the series has finally prompted the companies behind the shows to respond—even if they are lying.
On VH1’s blog, the network and its parent company promised the violence would end, or at least slow down, on the next season Here are the statements from both entities.
From Shed:
“Shed Media US is fully committed to telling the compelling stories of the Basketball Wives in a balanced way. Our producing partner Shaunie O’Neal feels strongly about this, and we fully agree with this stance. We support her as she encourages the cast members to work out issues in a non-violent fashion. We look forward to working with her and the rest of the cast on conveying more balance in the next season.”
From VH1:
“Our viewers opinions always matter a great deal to us at VH1. Lately, there has been a lot of conversation about Basketball Wives, a series featuring strong, intelligent women with very passionate viewpoints which can sometimes escalate.
“We at VH1 agree with and support Shaunie and the show producers’ “no excessive physical confrontations” policy on the series moving forward. We are all committed to balancing the candid, bold excitement that the viewers have come to love in the series with storylines and representations they can be proud of. Shaunie has been a strong advocate for a more balanced approach to the show and we, along with our producing partners at Shed Media, are all in agreement about moving forward with that goal.”
Anyone want to take a guess at what that excessive qualifier means? At the very least, it suggests there will still be some form of violence on the show, which I have a feeling most protestors will not go for.
During the “Basketball Wives” reunion taping this weekend, Shaunie was also asked for her thoughts on the situation and she made a similar promise about cutting down on the violence and she also says she and the producers take responsibility for the backlash she receives—although she makes it seem as though she’s been advocating for this change of heart all along.
Check out her clip and tell us if you’re buying her spiel. Do you think VH1 and Shed will really listen to viewers for the next season or are they blowing smoke?
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Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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