Entertainment

Reel-ality TV Talk

Published

10 years ago

July 6, 2015

By Marquesa LaDawn
NNPA Columnist

The crazy news never quits coming about Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA). Claudia was let go last month, Phaedra’s return is questionable and now Nene – the only original housewife left – has left the building.

Nene bid goodbye and says she’s ready for us to see her happy and doing new things. I think there’s more to it than that. During her last two seasons, the other cast members stood up to her and refused to let her win the war of words. Also, when she lost her BFF, Cynthia, she lost her support. Although we will miss her, in a way, she had already checked out.

I just hope she realizes that moving to another Bravo reality show still means facing her demons or moving away means showing some serious skills. I’m hearing the new RHOA cast will include one of my childhood favs – Kim Fields. I have mixed thoughts about that, although she played the feisty character, Regine, on her last long running TV project, “Living Single.” I’m not sure she can be interesting in real life. You see a Real Housewife has to be an interesting combination of boldness, uniqueness, vulnerability, shock value and a little bit of crazy rolled into one. Professional actors tend to come on the show thinking they can act their way through it, only to find themselves in unbelievable situations. We’ll see what happens with Kim.

There’s another show that I’ve been eyeing that has some of the high drama of RHOA. It’s also in Atlanta and called “Cutting it up in Atlanta.” It’s about salon owners and their personal dynamics with each other. I just heard one of the cast mates, was considered for RHOA but they passed on her and she’s now making waves on CIUA. On a scale of 1-10, I give it a 4 right now. It’s really heavy in the drama department, which makes for good TV for a short time before we are over it. Its like the ladies just arrived pissed off and ready to fight.

The Braxtons is catching fire. Granted, they had an advantage with a celebrity star, but if you’ve watched reality long enough, you know that all celebrities do not make great reality TV! Back to my girls, they are unpredictable as always. It’s interesting to see Toni Braxton on camera a lot this season. I’m thinking, when the reality show first started five years ago, Toni was in a bad place. She seems free after finally accepting the end of her marriage and not fearing becoming a has-been in the industry.

Now on to the good stuff…my girl Tracy is losing it. It’s so interesting that she will not tell her sisters what’s really wrong. For so long, she’s felt like a background sister, the least attractive and at times invisible. Starting last season she rebuilt her marriage and her career and now has a voice. She looks amazing! Yet, her sisters are hardly ever around to support her and that hurt. Add to the mix her 19 year old son getting married. Tracy, please say something! I think you will realize that your sisters will show up of you if you ask. So, ask!

On the Real Housewives of New York (RHONY), after arriving in Turks and Caicos and settling in last week into one heck of an island, the fireworks began. Ramona and Bethenny bonded like never before, over the pain of divorce. I’ve never seen Ramona so “real,” it was refreshing. Dorinda had a pep talk with Sonya about not standing up for herself and within minutes she became Hurricane Sonya.

Sonya confronted Ramona and Bethenny about being so mean. She yelled and screamed and told them to go somewhere. She then decided to just chill alone and not hang with them. Whoa! Now that Sonya is off the radar, they turn on one another. We see an argument start between Dorinda and Heather that will continue next week. Also, Bethenny decides to cook one of her amazing meals and mid way, some of the ladies decide to leave the house and go out to eat This continues next week… ooh it’s really good

Things also got interesting finally, for the Real Housewives of the OC (RHOOC), after a disagreement between Shannon and the newest housewife, Meghan. First of all, Shannon was rude twice toward newbie Meghan for no reason. But surprised when Meghan reacted by not inviting her to her party. Really? Shannon, you can’t be that delusional.

Marquesa LaDawn is a professional businesswoman who escapes the pressures of living in New York City by retreating into the real world of reality TV. Follow her on twitter @realityshowgirl and subscribe to her podcast at www.RealitytvGirl.com.

###

Reporter II

Posts by Reporter II

Related Topics:Marquesa LaDawn Real Housewives reality tv shows Reel-ality TV Talk RHOA RHONY

Up Next

Ciara, Russell Wilson Abstaining from Sex

Don't Miss

Is Lena Dunham’s New Summer Intern…Malia Obama?

Reporter II

Click to comment

Arts and Culture

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss, and Legacy

When Bridgett M. Davis was in college, her sister Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Love Rita Book Cover. Courtesy of Harper.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Bridgett M. Davis, c.2025, Harper, $29.99, 367 Pages

Take care.

Do it because you want to stay well, upright, and away from illness. Eat right, swallow your vitamins and hydrate, keep good habits and hygiene, and cross your fingers. Take care as much as you can because, as in the new book, “Love, Rita” by Bridgett M. Davis, your well-being is sometimes out of your hands.

It was a family story told often: when Davis was born, her sister, Rita, then four years old, stormed up to her crying newborn sibling and said, ‘Shut your … mouth!’

Rita, says Davis, didn’t want a little sister then. She already had two big sisters and a neighbor who was somewhat of a “sister,” and this baby was an irritation. As Davis grew, the feeling was mutual, although she always knew that Rita loved her.

Over the years, the sisters tried many times not to fight — on their own and at the urging of their mother — and though division was ever present, it eased when Rita went to college. Davis was still in high school then, and she admired her big sister.

She eagerly devoured frequent letters sent to her in the mail, signed, “Love, Rita.”

When Davis was in college herself, Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

First, they lost their father. Drugs then invaded the family and addiction stole two siblings. A sister and a young nephew were murdered in a domestic violence incident. Their mother was devastated; Rita’s lupus was an “added weight of her sorrow.”

After their mother died of colon cancer, Rita’s lupus took a turn for the worse.

“Did she even stand a chance?” Davis wrote in her journal.

“It just didn’t seem possible that she, someone so full of life, could die.”

Let’s start here: once you get past the prologue in “Love, Rita,” you may lose interest. Maybe.

Most of the stories that author Bridgett M. Davis shares are mildly interesting, nothing rare, mostly commonplace tales of growing up in the 1960s and ’70s with a sibling. There are a lot of these kinds of stories, and they tend to generally melt together. After about fifty pages of them, you might start to think about putting the book aside.

But don’t. Not quite yet.

In between those everyday tales, Davis occasionally writes about being an ailing Black woman in America, the incorrect assumptions made by doctors, the history of medical treatment for Black people (women in particular), attitudes, and mythologies. Those passages are now and then, interspersed, but worth scanning for.

This book is perhaps best for anyone with the patience for a slow-paced memoir, or anyone who loves a Black woman who’s ill or might be ill someday. If that’s you and you can read between the lines, then “Love, Rita” is a book to take in carefully.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

S.F. Businesswomen Honor Trailblazers at 44th Annual Sojourner Truth Awards and Scholarship Luncheon

This year’s well-deserved award recipients were women who graciously and continuously have served and empowered the Bayview community and beyond.

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Carletta Jackson-Lane, 21st Western District governor of the National Association of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, Inc. sits with honoree Carol E. Tatum the 2025 Sojourner Truth Award recipient of the NAB&PW, Inc. Photo courtesy of Sheryl Smith.

By Rev. Dr. Rochelle Frazier
Special to The Post

On Saturday, April 19, the San Francisco Business and Professional Women’s Club (SFBPWC) held its sold-out 44th Annual Sojourner Truth Awards and Scholarship Luncheon at the Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans Ave. in San Francisco.

The luncheon’s theme was “Moving Forward with a Purpose: From Trailblazers to Game Changers.”

This year’s well-deserved award recipients were women who graciously and continuously have served and empowered the Bayview community and beyond.

Carol Evora Tatum received the National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award for her decades of leadership and dedicated community service.

Brittany Doyle, founder and CEO of WISE Health SF, was honored as the Businesswoman of the Year because of her insightful and innovative business acumen regarding community-centered health programs.

La Shon A. Walker was recognized as the Professional Woman of the Year for her community empowerment and leadership work as the vice president of Community Affairs at FivePoint.

The luncheon also provides an opportunity to present scholarships to well-deserving students. The scholarship awardees were Jayana Harbor and Zari Moore, both graduating from Immaculate Conception Academy, and London Robinson, who is graduating from Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School.

Harbor plans to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland; Moore will attend Loyola University in New Orleans, and Robinson will attend Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“The 44th Annual Sojourner Truth Awards and Scholarship Luncheon is more than a celebration,” said Cheryl Smith, president of SFBPWC. “It’s a tribute to the legacy of Black women who have paved the way and made a commitment to uplifting future generations. We are proud to honor extraordinary leaders in our community and invest in the bright minds who will carry us into the future.”