The TV slot once filled with glass throwing and insult lashings by the cast of Basketball Wives has now been replaced with the table shaking drama of Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta. Why, you ask? Because drama sells, and after a few seasons of the aforementioned, the ladies of Basketball Wives have decided to make some changes for the good.
The remaining trio: Shaunie O’Neal, Evelyn Lozada, and Tami Roman, share the cover of the July issue of of Upscale Magazine, where they talk about the backlash from the show, and why they had to let Jennifer Williams and Royce go from the cast.
Check out the excerpts below.
Evelyn on the backlash from the show:
People were connecting my behavior on the show with the incident with Chad. They were like, ‘Well if she acts like that on the show, then I’m sure she acts like that at home.’ I’m a totally different person at home.
Tami on the effects of the show:
I was very depressed last summer. I was dealing with some things that were going on with my mother and everything that was happening with the backlash from the show. I started eating everything under the sun. I blew up to about 190-ish pounds. I’m a tall girl, so I wear it well, but I was bordering between [size] 14 and 16 in my clothes.
Shaunie on the change in the show:
By the time we did the [season four] reunion we all agreed enough is enough. We had a group talk and were all definitely on the same page. We heard the messages loud and clear. We knew we had to do better. It was an eye opener. -Shaunie
On the departure of Royce Reed and Jennifer Williams from the cast:
Shaunie: It was a chemistry thing. It just became awkward to film or even come up with a conversation. It just wasn’t working for TV.
Evelyn: Royce has been a non-motherf—ing factor for the last two seasons, so it just didn’t make sense anymore. And as for Jennifer—Shaunie is [being] nice but I’m going to tell you this—we don’t condone the incident with Jennifer, but we do reality TV. You know something’s bound to happen when you put a bunch of women together and there’s a lot of behind the scenes conversation and gossip going on. So when Jennifer went on this whole anti-show campaign, it was a little tough for us as cast members.
Well, Zayum. Check out the full interview when the magazine hits stands.
SOURCE: Carlton Jordan
