The black community has a love-hate affair with reality television. Even the critics who protest the most about the show can be seen secretly watching these shows while munching on some popcorn.
Despite its popularity, VH1 Love and Hip Hop Atlanta has received much criticism and backlash for its negative portrayal of black women.
The show’s female cast has caught a bad rap for using profanity words, being loudmouthed and fighting. Not the qualities one would expect from a woman.
But the current generation has embraced these qualities and calls it the definition of being a “bad bitch.” Reality star Joseline took time out of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta’s Monday night reunion to point out she was a “bad bitch.”
“I had to put on my shades for all you hatin’ a** b****es. I’m the baddest b***h,” Joseline said as she rose from her seat to display her figure to the audience.”
Producer Mona Scott Young told viewers during the reunion the show was not meant to show a stereotypical depiction of black women.
“This show never supposed to be a representation of all African American women everywhere,” she said. “This show was about your lives, your struggle. And you have a every right to tell them.”
There is much debate on the authenticity of Love and Hip Hop. Many viewers aren’t sure whether the show is in fact “real” or actually scripted. Many critics wish the latter.
But during the reunion episode, cast mate Mimi downplayed all rumors of the show being scripted.
“What was going on was what was going on in our life,” Mimi told viewers. “It had nothing to do with you or VH1 or a script. So for them to say ‘you were portraying African American women in a negative light’…not so much.”
Love and Hip Hop may depict African Americans in a negative light, but this demographic disproportionately supports the program. This demographic even made the show’s reunion episode a trending topic on Twitter.
The show’s producers and cast aren’t to blame for the show’s strong presence on television. It is the viewers who give the show the ratings it needs to continue each subsequent season.
Young said during an interview with the Rickey Smiley morning show that reality television is a business of “supply and demand.”
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