Almost every major network across the board is capitalizing on the reality television craze. From cooking to marriage to competition series to true crime to a celebrity's homelife, billions of people worldwide tune in to watch strangers do just about anything. The voyeurism has proven to be lucrative for networks and production companies, as well as the stars that find their footing on these shows. Yet, after participating, many of those featured no longer want to be connected to reality TV, including Tamar Braxton who recently spoke out against WEtv's Braxton Family Values.
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She accused production of sharing intimate details of the sexual abuse as a child with her family members and lamented publicly that the network wouldn't let him out of her contract. It's reported that they've since parted ways, but Tamar isn't the only celebrity to have issues with their portrayals, and the portrayal of Black people, on reality TV.
"When I first started speaking out about it no one believed me," Tamar recently told Hollywood Unlocked. "Looking back at it, how could they? Because the depiction of me was 'problematic,' right? So, for me to come out and say that these things were actually, really going on, this was my experience, no one wanted to believe it. And I don't think it's really just that particular network. Can we actually sit here and name a positive Black reality television show? What's the name of it?"
"It's not really about the execs so much. It's the fact that we as a people participate in it," Tamar added. "We still sign up to do it because everybody wants as shot. Everybody wants to be famous. Everybody wants to have a platform where they can make money and I'm not knocking them, but we do have a responsibility to keep that narrative going and I just feel like we will sign up to be on TV at any cost. And then, as a people, we watch it."
"We have to stop participating in it and that's the bottom line." Check out the clip of her interview below.