transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:01] Hey, y'all, it's Lauren LaRosa with the Latest with Lauren LaRosa on Black Effect. And I cannot wait to see you guys at the 4th Annual Black Effect Podcast Festival. We are coming back to Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, April 25th at Pullman Yards. And it's hosted by me alongside DJ Envy and Charlamagne The God. We got Drink Chance with Noriega and DJ FM. We got Keep It Positive Sweetie with my girl, Crystal Renee Hayslett. We got Reality with The King with my guy, my brother, Carlos King. Y'all know he does reality commentary like nobody can. Now we also have Don't Call Me White Girl, the podcast. I love Mona and Club 520 Podcast, along with the Grits and Eggs Podcast. So this lineup, stacked baby. You're also going to want to check out the panels that we have lined up too, featuring Kev On Stage, Tika Sumter and John-Hulk Bryant, just to name a few. Of course, it's way bigger than podcast. We're bringing the Black Effect Marketplace with Black-owned businesses, plus the food truck court to keep you fed while you visit us. Okay? Listen, you don't want to miss this. Tap in and grab your ticket now at blackeffect.com/podcastfestival.

Speaker 2:
[01:15] Reality with The King is hosted by me, Carlos King. I'm an executive producer who have produced some of your favorite shows from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, New Jersey and my own creation, The Love and Marriage Franchise and Bell Collective. Every episode, we recap reality television from The Real Housewives Franchise to The Bachelor or Selling Sunset. In addition to celebrity guests, whether in the unscripted space or scripted as well. Rain drops, Claudia, Blue and I and Jazmine Henley-Brown will be joining us in a bit. We are here to talk about the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. This episode had a lot of moments as I was watching it where I could not wait to talk to you ladies about this. So let's get right into it. The episode, are you freshening up your gloss blue because there's a whole bunch of shit talking that doesn't want to happen. So the episode opens up where we learn, you know, K. Michelle had her operation. She had glam there. Her husband is there. And she is happy that, you know, everything is looking better for her. She still have a lot of ways to go due to the leakage of her butt implant that she has been extremely open about. That occurred. And then we see in the next scene that the ladies are at a nail salon. Okay. So this nail salon included Porsha, Phaedra and Cynthia. K. Michelle walks in with the help of a attendee who works at the nail salon. And she starts to tell her exactly what's going on. And on top of that, we get to see the ladies here for the first time what really did happen. Oh, Jazmine is here. Let's bring on Jazmine.

Speaker 3:
[03:24] Hi. Happy Monday.

Speaker 2:
[03:27] Hey, Claudia.

Speaker 3:
[03:27] Hi, Blue. Nice to meet you.

Speaker 4:
[03:31] Welcome. Oh, Carlos is in a group situation with the ladies. He's got these angels.

Speaker 2:
[03:39] I love it.

Speaker 3:
[03:40] Good morning, Carlos.

Speaker 2:
[03:43] Good morning, angels. Yes. Oh, I am surrounded by beautiful women. It reminds me of my entire years in school. So, Jazmine, you came in at the right time because we're talking about the nail salon scene. We're just getting started on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and how K. Michelle had the operation. She's on the men's. She decided, look, I'm here to work. Okay. She got off the surgery table and got in on the chair to get her petty and manny. But before she could even enjoy that, she's telling the ladies about what happened. Then Porsha blurted out, oh, you got a miscarriage? We see K. Michelle in that moment laughing off and said, no girl did it. But then in the confessional, we learn that she's not too happy about what Porsha blurted out, and that carried the entire episode. I want to start with you, Claudia. Listen, people are divided. People are divided with K. Michelle feels strongly, and we'll get to the other scenes in a second. But in her confessional in this scene, she feels strongly about what Porsha blurted out. So much so, she referred to her, because I like to make sure I get people's statements right. K. Michelle says, I don't know if she is serious or dumb. Claudia, your thoughts.

Speaker 4:
[05:24] She is dumb, she is dumb. You will never be able to convince me that you didn't know what the hell I was talking about when Porsha, I don't know if y'all caught this, she, and I was ready to say before I watched the whole episode, okay, you know, maybe she wasn't trying to be shady when they met and they had they met up, right? But no, because Porsha caught herself and she says, the surgery you had for eight years, so she knew about this butt thing that K. Michelle was dealing with, they talked on the phone, and I don't give a god damn if we both had miscarriages. You never say nothing like that in front of a group in a public setting at a nail shop with cameraman, producers, and you're on a show. That is not the place for it. You let K. Michelle say if it was a miscarriage, oh, you had a miscarriage? To say it's so insensitive like that, I feel like Porsha be playing in people's faces. She does, and I'm sure she'll go on some little stupid show and say that I need her for clout. Don't just tell me that in the comments. I don't need you for clout, Porsha. I've not followed your page since you were on Dish Nation. So I don't need you for clout, but I can. I'm not blinded by your cuteness. I can call it for what it is. It's never okay for you to be so casual about a miscarriage. And even if you thought that was it, you would maybe pull to the side and be like, what was that? Did you have a miscarriage? You don't say that in front of everybody because you just don't do that. That is a very sensitive thing to talk about. And I think she plays in our face and plays stupid. Oh, no, no, who me? No, I didn't mean that. Well, I had them too. Do not believe that that she's dumb, but she's also very conniving. She's also very mad. She knows what she's doing. She's a reality TV veteran and people she does not get away. She's not going to pass that. You've been doing it for too many years and you know better. I think Porsha sees what we all see. All the attention that K. Michelle was going to get. She's very much a very strong personality. And I think Porsha, I don't know. I think that was some nice nasty shit she did right then. I didn't think that was cool at all. I didn't think it was cool at all. I don't care if you thought I was a miscarriage or not. You don't say that out loud in a nail salon, in a public place, where the friggin nail techs can hear you say that. No, you'll never be able to convince me otherwise. I'm sorry. And yes, I'm biased and I'm not apologizing for it anymore, so fuck it. Okay?

Speaker 2:
[07:41] Jazmine Henley-Brown?

Speaker 3:
[07:43] I agree with Claudia's reasoning, right? The way Porsha said it, her tone of voice was like, a miscarriage, like she was joking, but I was like, that's actually not something you joke about, right? So as someone who has maybe a darker sense of humor, it's still not something you joke about. It's something so serious, it should never be taken lightly, right? And then she did say it in front of a bunch of people, and then she tried when they went to go meet up, she's like, it was a safe space, not a safe space for K. Michelle. K. Michelle is just getting to know these ladies. So even if that was the case, you don't know if that's something that she was ready to share with everyone else. And so Carlos, when you said people are divided, I'm very curious about what the other side is saying. Like, are they saying she didn't mean it maliciously or like?

Speaker 5:
[08:28] Well, I'm the other side.

Speaker 3:
[08:30] Okay. I would love to know. Go ahead, Blue.

Speaker 5:
[08:35] I think the debate isn't about what she said tacky. I think anybody, even a Porsha fan with any sense, would agree it's tacky, right? I just disagree that it's malicious. I think there are two things at play here. Porsha is someone who we've seen since her very first season, struggles with intimacy, emotional intimacy. Whenever things are serious, she either makes a joke or she has dark humor or she's flipping, right? With the Shemeah thing, whenever Shemeah tries to have an emotionally intimate conversation with her about the friendship, you see how dismissive Porsha is. Oh, nothing's a big deal. Nothing's a big deal. But then she talks crazy in the confessional. Shemeah walks on eggshells as if she knows that Porsha doesn't like to do things that are deep. So I think on one hand, we have Porsha who thinks that are supposed to be seen as sacred, she's not the best at honoring those things. And she's entitled right now because she's the Gisele Bryant of the franchise currently, right? I think the combination of her flippancy and her being entitled and feeling like she can do what she wants and her sucking at emotional intimacy made her do something tacky and lazy. But I do not agree that it was directed at K. Michelle. I think it was just her being misbehaved and having no manners. And K. Michelle just happened to be who was directed at. And I actually do believe when she realized that her sloppiness had offended K. Michelle, what I saw in that dinner was you could tell that the Porsha who's usually defensive was actually trying to have some emotional intelligence because she actually respects K. Michelle. I saw somebody who's messy doing their best to be less messy with someone that they actually respect.

Speaker 4:
[10:08] This is why I disagree. This is why I disagree. Okay, Blue, say me and you on the phone, right? We cool. We actually like each other, right? We rock with each other, right? And we've had conversations. And I told you on the phone, right, about my surgery that has gone left, right? We've had conversations about it. You've given me advice. I have an issue with this implant. It's leaking. Something's wrong. And I've told you, I've been dealing with this for eight years and it's a thing. How are you now playing that dumb where you just forgot all those conversations about this and you think it's a miscarriage? And if we're cool enough for me to talk to you on the phone about this surgery, don't you think if I had a miscarriage, I probably would have said that on the phone to you then as well? I don't know. I just felt like that was the way you told that out. Like, what are you doing?

Speaker 5:
[10:50] That's assuming a clarity and present tense personality that Porsha doesn't have. I have an assistant who I love, right? She is a little bit Porsha-like, so maybe this is why I see it differently. I can literally say to her, hey, I'm going to be on Carlos' show at 4 PM Pacific. Do not call me at 4 PM Pacific. She will still text me 15 minutes in the show, be like, oh, I'm sorry, I know I heard but I forgot, right? Porsha is a very, this is not me showing her bell. I think that K. Michelle's surgery bruised respectfully. It's such an old story. I was watching the episode when I was doing my makeup today, my makeup artist said to me, she said, oh shit, she's still going through that? I thought that was over. Just because something is common knowledge doesn't mean it still feels current. So what I'm saying is, I believe K. Michelle had a conversation with her. I just don't think that Porsha is always listening. I think Porsha is very self-absorbed. Porsha, she's very self-absorbed. We've seen episodes of people saying things to her in the very next scene. Who said that? It's literally one of her means. I think literally Porsha, I don't want you to hear it about, she might be a little dumber than y'all are giving her credit for. I think she was absent-minded and messy and then tried to clean it up, and now we all think she's a brilliant mastermind and respectfully Porsha. Looks like I'm looking out for you. I just don't think you're right to pull this off.

Speaker 4:
[11:57] Well, that's even more reason for K. Michelle to have a red flag go up, because if I saw the intimacy of the seriousness of a medical thing I'm going through, and you didn't even listen to me, but then in the scene you throw out miscarriage, I think that's a major red flag. And I do believe that K. Michelle feels similar to how I'm looking at it, because the way K. Michelle's face, but she was like, wait, what? I told you. And Porsha, she didn't even remember her telling her about her surgery, which I don't even know if that's true or not, because Porsha is a liar.

Speaker 3:
[12:27] It was a bad joke. Porsha made, like she tried to make a joke. Yeah, she tried to make a bad joke and it just isn't something to joke about. And it turned K. Michelle off rightfully so, turned off us as viewers rightfully so. That's just nothing you joke about. But yeah, Porsha, you know, we, Porsha literally got sent home on the Traders because she just talks without like thinking a lot of times. Like, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[12:51] So with that being said, because I do want to ask this, okay? Jazmine, you just said Porsha got kicked off of Traders because she says things that she doesn't think about. Blue is saying, I just think she's aloof and she's, she didn't mean any ill intention to it. Claudia, in the beginning, you did say, okay, I have, I watched the full episode because at first I thought, okay, maybe not. So my question, maybe she didn't mean any ill intent. So my question is, and again, I'm not a woman, so I don't feel the need to insert my opinion on the sensitivity of what women go through, the miscarriage and all of that. Obviously, I know it's a horrible experience. I was just told the other day because I was on a, me and a friend was, I was two other friends. And then, you know me, I'm a talker.

Speaker 3:
[13:54] A date.

Speaker 5:
[13:55] A double date? Is that what that is? Another two people. Carlos.

Speaker 4:
[14:00] He's in heat right now. He is in heat.

Speaker 2:
[14:02] Jazmine. And then, they were like, Carlos, you're so inappropriate. What are you talking about? Because I ask questions. But that's my makeup. So my question is, on one hand, was it a slip up or do y'all think there was malice behind it? Because I think that, I think, was divided by the audience that I'm asking a question with, Jazmine. They're divided because people are saying, okay, was it a fucked up thing to say? I can give you that. But was it malice behind it? And that's the question I have for you three ladies, starting with you, Claudia.

Speaker 4:
[14:44] I mean, I don't even know what's going on in her brain because I don't talk to her. She's not my, you know, I don't know her like that anymore. So I guess we'll see how the season unfolds if it was malice. Like, you know, if she changes it up and doesn't do that again, then we could be like, all right, our bad, she will, or my bad. It wasn't malice. It was a true misspeak because we can all misspeak, right? That is true. What made me change my mind was during the confessionals, when we find out that Porsha had been on the phone with K. Michelle and K. Michelle, and she even said you been dealing about your butt thing that you've been dealing with for eight years. And she stopped herself. She didn't go back and watch. She stopped herself when she was saying this. So, okay, you just have to be so dumb to think that that could be to just throw that out there. And maybe I am insensitive to this. It has nothing to do with an obsession or a thing with Porsha. It has to do with being a woman in the topic of miscarriages. Anyone that's ever had one, if anyone ever throws that out there before, you're ready to put that out there or to even say it in a joking way, abortion or even a miscarriage. Listen, I'll say a lot of things about people, but I'm not touching that. That is something that is very personal to the woman. And you don't get to say that in front of a misspeak or not. That is something you just got to like, and you deserve smoke if you do. What is wrong with holding someone accountable for saying that? Whether it was ignorance, misspeaking or malice, it's still bad, you guys. It's still bad and it's not hate. I would, if anyone said that, I'd be like, yo, chill, just chill. I just think that's just such a personal thing. And that's, I don't know. It's one thing when you've been on the phone with me, I've been talking about what I'm going through. If I say, oh, I had surgery in my eye, and then in front of everybody, you go, oh, your new titties you just got? Bitch, were you not listening to all the conversations I had? That's what made it for me like, wait, what? Either you're a bad friend and you just never listened to me on the phone or you threw my business out there or I don't know. It's just, there's no good solution to it. And I think all too often we blush, brush off as, oh, she's dumb, it's cute. She misspoke, oh, y'all being too hard. Listen, she's a veteran. She's a TV veteran at this point. So yeah. But I am glad that K. Michelle thinks that she's able to move on from it. That's more important than what I think about it, that they are able to move on. So she's probably like, all right, I hear you, but I'm gonna keep one eye on you if it happens again. But if it doesn't, then it's all good.

Speaker 3:
[17:08] And I think to Blue's point that she made earlier, the reason I don't think it was malicious or she had malicious intent, because she did seem to like genuinely feel bad when they were doing their like one-on-one lunch. When she said it, it landed horribly. And I didn't know at that point, was she trying to be shady? Whatever, it's just a bad joke. Move on. But when they were on that one-on-one, Porsha was not her usual like Blue said defensive self. When K. Michelle confronted her. And so that for me, that's the reason why I could probably say she made a bad joke. It didn't land. It was a really sensitive topic. But she probably did feel really bad about that. Porsha herself said she had experienced miscarriages, right? So she knew that it was not something to joke about. I don't think she had malicious intents. But your intentions doesn't mean like that's the way that it's going to land, right? So you might not have intended for it to be malicious. But the way K. Michelle received it, it probably felt like that for her. But yeah, I think Porsha did a decent job at attempting her version of holding herself accountable and taking accountability and being willing to move forward after being confronted for something that she did.

Speaker 5:
[18:16] Yeah. Intention doesn't negate impact, but misspeaking on my intentions does cause further harm. So it does matter if you say, I did something on purpose that I agree was fucked up, but I didn't do on purpose because me fucking up is the mistake that I'm willing to take accountability for. You insisting I did it on purpose when I know I didn't is now attacking my character and creating a home problem. So it actually does make a difference when you misspeak on someone's intentions. Because if I was to, perfect example, if I also misspeak to Carlos right now, and I was mortified, I would be sincerely sorry, I would be deeply offended if he then tried to tell me I meant something I know I didn't mean. Because now you're telling me something that is not your place to tell me, and you have to either believe me or not, but it is offensive to be sorry and then have your character attack. So it does actually matter if she intended it or not. I want to say something that I'm always remiss to say on camera. I was listening to Claudia talk and I was like, I have to say it now. Porsha, and I suspected this for a very long time, I am someone who got diagnosed as neurodivergent at 41. Porsha does a lot of things that I don't agree with that are conniving. But there are these moments where she looks sincerely like, oh, I didn't read the room. That as an undiagnosed neurodivergent person, there are people who for years superimposed intentions on me when I said tacky shit because I didn't read the room properly. And I've wondered for a very long time if she does have a glimmer of neurodivergence because the confusion that she has when she's like, oh, that's not what I meant at all, my bad. And then she feels attacked. That's actually something that happens to a lot of undiagnosed neurodivergent Black women where we say something wrong. We feel bad. Everybody else is saying what Claudia is saying, well, it's obvious. Everybody would know better. Your brain sincerely doesn't know any better. And now you're feeling offended because you're feeling misunderstood because they're trying to tell you an intention that doesn't belong to you, even though you actually feel bad about your impact. And so I'm not going to diagnose Porsha. I would just say, though, if anybody in her life ever had an opportunity for her to get tested, this scene actually the reason why I'm showing her grace is because I've been the Porsha in this situation and you were all wrong. I've been the Porsha who has said something tacky because my brain didn't clock it and I know better and my intrusive thoughts won. And now I've said sorry and I meant it, but everybody's adding sauce about my character that's completely false. So I think that's why I'm sensitive to it because it can actually be a mistake. I've been the person where it was a mistake and everybody was convinced that I should have known better.

Speaker 2:
[20:37] This is Reality with The King and I'm Carlos King. Let's get back into the show.

Speaker 4:
[20:44] I would love to get that kind of grace. I was, I was, I wish I knew what that felt like.

Speaker 5:
[20:49] I have, so like, so it's not a grace that you get it's something that you feel like, oh, I recognize this confusion. So I recognize something in her that I was like, there's actually a version of this where she did not mean it, even though she's meant other things. And so she hasn't earned the grace to Claudia's point. She hasn't earned the grace doesn't mean I can't see it being a possibility.

Speaker 2:
[21:05] And one thing I do want to get into next is this. So in the moment, as we're watching the show, in the moment, K. Michelle does not say anything about it. She looks caught off guard. She laughs at all. And we know there is such a thing as a nervous laugh. What we then found out is once she left the nail salon, she tweeted pretty much calling Porsha a bimbo. Right? Then she meets with Cynthia and Pinky, and she calls Porsha a dingbat. And it catches Cynthia off guard because...

Speaker 3:
[21:46] A big dingbat. A big dingbat.

Speaker 2:
[21:48] A big dingbat. He said there's a big dingbat. As a journalist, hey, Porsha, I want to make sure I'm always accurate with the quotes. She called Porsha a big dingbat. One thing I noticed was this, and I want us to talk about this and I don't think anyone else is doing it, which is why I love the show. Cynthia was there. And when K. Michelle talked about what Porsha did, Cynthia looked shocked, like, wait, what? Oh, I don't think she meant to like that, but I think once you talk to her, you know, she'll apologize. So my question for the panel before we get to the other shade that was thrown, if Cynthia was actually in the room when this happened and the person in the room with Cynthia's own words, she didn't clock it either. So does it make the situation more nuanced because the person who said it obviously didn't clock it because she said it. The person in the room didn't realize it was a big thing until K. Michelle said it. So do you think there's room for, okay, Cynthia didn't clock it either, so how would someone else, starting with you, Jazmine?

Speaker 3:
[23:03] I think that's the conversation we're having. I think we all feel a little differently about that. Cynthia knows Porsha very well. I think Cynthia even said that in the scene. I've been knowing these ladies for a long time, essentially saying Porsha may not have meant that, or I don't know if she said that in reference to that scene. But anyway, that's Cynthia's position with Porsha. They're friends. She knows that Porsha probably didn't mean any harm, but I think that's what we're trying to unpack here. There was no way that Cynthia would know for sure if there was malintent behind what Porsha said. I think Cynthia is like some of the rest of us, like, I heard it, but I just thought it was something that Porsha said. Like you said, Blue, just another flippant comment from Porsha. I don't know what was behind it. That's what I took away from that scene at least.

Speaker 5:
[23:50] It isn't invalid too. Let's be clear. Somebody can unintentionally say something harmful, and if the impact is hurtful, nobody can say that what K. Michelle is feeling is wrong. So to me, there's no argument that what K. Michelle is feeling is wrong. We're more speculating on intention. I will say this, and this is the point of contention for me with the audience who is so aggrieved by this joke. I was the lone wolf like five or so years ago who hated, hated, hated the now infamous Real Housewives of Atlanta scene at the reunion where Phaedra made fun of Kenya Moore for doing the vitro.

Speaker 4:
[24:25] Oh, I hated that. I thought that was funny.

Speaker 5:
[24:28] I thought it was so deeply offensive to see a woman trying to have a child and to mock her and say the domino pizza man is going to jizz in the cup to give her a baby because she's too much of a loser to find a man to love her. And then you end up divorcing the loser that you were caping for when you said that. To me, that was considered one of Phaedra's top favorite scenes of all time on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, wherever you go. The Real Housewives Atlanta fans love that scene because at the time they loved Phaedra. Now that we've seen Porsha do things like allegedly take a married man and she's in and out of favor, now the flippant comment about the miscarriage is the worst thing ever. I just feel like this is another case of, if it was somebody else, any points given grace might be more received, but because of the complicated feelings that women in particular have around Porsha and not being a girl's girls and she might see your husband and making jokes about Charles Oakley, I think that she might have made a callous but not malicious mistake, that the audience, certain people in the audience just won't have the grace to give her. It's okay because she's earned that irer. She's earned the irer. It's the boy who cried wolf in my opinion. I think she's full of shit a lot of times. I 100 percent do not believe she's full of shit this time because Cynthia then just say that she's my friend, I know her. She was saying the energy didn't fill off. If you're in a room and your friend says something stupid and nobody says anything, and it's a blip, you're not clocking it because it didn't create a moment shift. Well, K. Michelle internalized, I don't think it's translated to anybody else in the room, but K. Michelle, which is why they all seem shocked when she said she had a point of contention.

Speaker 4:
[26:02] Also, I think a lot of the reason why no one else felt away about it, which doesn't really matter what everybody else felt, it matters what K. Michelle felt, like you said. It's because K. Michelle, I recognize that nervous laugh of like, I'm not going to make a big, like I'm not making it bigger now. And then sometimes you get misjudged or people will say, well, you wouldn't trip on the moment. So I didn't think it was a big deal. So then, you know, Cynthia made her comment about water breaking and all that. And she probably really thought and people think a lot of times with tough people that things don't bother you because you're a tough person in other situations. I don't care how tough you are. Anyone who has had a miscarriage or has dealt with that, any kind of fertility issues, you are not like you can be the toughest person on Earth, that could be the thing that really hurts you now. Yeah, maybe there's a world where she wasn't being malicious. Maybe I'm just extra like I've had one before. So color me extra sensitive to people putting on business. And I had someone put business like that out there in the public space and it was devastating. It was devastating. Actually, they made it seem like it wasn't a miscarriage, like it was an abortion. And it's really evil, right? So I'm going by my life experience. Again, hopefully it wasn't because I do like the version of the show where these girls are having fun. And I do think there will be some TV gold with Porsha and K. Michelle that could be really, really funny and get the show back to the fun kind of way that it used to be, where the fighting is more verbal than physical. I would like to see that. So it would be great to see in the big picture that it was a one-moment thing and it moves on and it really wasn't that. I would like to be wrong about that, where they could go back to the fun because I'm honestly sick of every single episode being on 10 was fighting of reality.

Speaker 2:
[27:47] Yeah, which is why I really did enjoy this scene with Cynthia, Pinky and K. Michelle because it was shady and it was funny and all these things. I want to get your thoughts on this. K. Michelle, this is her first season on Atlanta Housewives and she's like, and what's up with Phaedra? All she does is make faces. I love that and giggle. And giggle, you know, a lot of people took that. And again, it was divided online. There are people who question why is Phaedra on this show because, you know, people went back and looked at the first episode, her in the all cast scene at Porsha's house and she didn't say anything. They saw the all cast scene episode two, Kelly's Waffles, and she didn't say anything. And when she was at the nail salon, she did not say anything. I want to start with you, Blue. The fact that there has been this sort of conversation about the relevancy of Phaedra on this show, our people into just who she was back in the day based on who she is now, K. Michelle being new to this and understanding how ensemble shows work, I looked at it as K. Michelle's like.

Speaker 1:
[29:10] That's a good point.

Speaker 2:
[29:12] What is going on here? And I think that's why she did it. But Blue, what are your thoughts on what K. Michelle said about Phaedra? All she does is giggle and make faces. And do you think there is a conversation about whether or not Phaedra is a good match for this show anymore?

Speaker 5:
[29:28] I think it was probably the most brilliant thing she said the entire episode. I think she broke the fourth wall and was honest about what a lot of us OG fans. I honestly, here's the thing, Phaedra was a star of a moment. And then she had the glamour and the intrigue around her departure from the Real Housewives of Atlanta as kind of like a smoke screen. And when she went on Traders, she had these zappy one-liners when it was always in a controlled environment and she had plenty of time to practice her lines, like Issa Rae in the mirror, right? But she wasn't actually that quick if you watched the season. She wasn't quick on her feet. It was like she would study really hard and then come prepared for a test. But the pickiness that she had, you could tell that she was slow on the uptake. I honestly think Phaedra needs to retire. I think that going on Traders should have been her swan song. She could have ended on a high note. Returning to the scene of the crime is now showing how stale the milk is. Jazmine. Phaedra Parks needs to retire. That's my opinion.

Speaker 3:
[30:23] Hashtag Phaedra Parks needs to retire. I agree with you 100 percent there. I was going to bring up her Traders performance. The network is definitely capitalizing off of how well she did on the Traders and they used that. I mean, I'm sure the fandom was asking for it, but they used that as a reason to usher her back onto the show. But she just doesn't fit anymore. I am never looking for her in the scene. I'm never caring about what she has to say. She hasn't said much, but I've never once in these three episodes wondered what is Phaedra going to say? What is Phaedra going to do? I'm never looking for her. I'm looking at everybody actually except Phaedra now. You brought up her her three from that reunion. When she did that with Kenya, that's old, old, old Phaedra. That's old Phaedra. I don't think we're ever getting that back. For now, I don't have a whole lot to say. I agree with you 100 percent. Phaedra, sayonara, sister.

Speaker 5:
[31:17] Has she ever phased her has to retire?

Speaker 4:
[31:19] It's the nostalgia, right? When your show, your favorite show, your favorite singer was at the height of their career, and then you're hanging on to the memories from the 90s or the 2000s. Whatever, like when the group was great or the performance was great. It's like you have a favorite quarterback from, I don't know, 1993, and putting them in the Super Bowl now is crazy, and that's what they did. They brought an old quarterback in from the 90s and gave her another shot. And sometimes it works when you bring someone back from the past, and sometimes it doesn't, and they got to be honest about it. I think she didn't give on Married for Medicine, and she's not giving on this. And again, I do think you're right, Blue. They're capitalizing off the rehearsed read that she did on Traders and thinking that that same magic was there. I think she may be able to be good again if it was with the same cast. You know what I mean? It's like maybe, I'm not saying she's trash. I'm not saying she's stupid. She's not. And I got to give a one note that I really liked. That blue dress in her confessional, gorgeous. One of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. But y'all will never give me credit for giving this girl credit. But anyways, so she looks great on that. But as far as what she's bringing, your storyline can't be that you're a mom, because almost everybody on the show is a mom.

Speaker 3:
[32:33] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[32:34] And then what else? You're not a force multiplier like Carlos says. All you do is make these weird ass faces and you stick your tongue out. You've got these blonde lace fronts I'm not feeling. And I don't know. I think Phaedra is like when we talk about actresses that go on reality TV and they're too measured and they try to edit themselves. And she's not in the moment. She's just like kind of like I think she's in her head too much like how this is going to play. And everything just seems rehearsed and not spontaneous. And that's what makes these reality stars great is their spontaneity. And we don't have that anybody is going to be rehearsed. I'd rather have someone that's sloppy with it and maybe stutters when they say something. But it's in a moment and it's real and it's from the heart. And we felt that then these stupid, corny ass like jokes that you probably wrote at home and you were waiting. You had your little tip sheet. Oh, I can put this joke here when she says this. I can do that. And it feels like that. And, you know, it's not hate. It's just a fact. And there's already too many housewives on there. So she should have been a friend of the show. Cynthia has given way more than Phaedra. Amen.

Speaker 3:
[33:39] That's a great point. That is a really great point. And, yeah, you know, Phaedra is interesting to me. I lost exactly... I was about to say something, and it was going to be a good point, and it completely left my mind.

Speaker 2:
[33:50] No, I'll say this. The reason why I was clapping when Claudia said, what's missing is spontaneity, is because the conversations that me and my friends are having in this business, all of us who produce Reality Television, the reason why I'm so thrilled that, you know, the audience loves Bell Collective Birmingham, is because what is missing is spontaneity. What is missing is real life story. And I am so bothered by anybody on twitter.com or X or social media, who are, who's even attempting to drag Pinky Cole. You don't have to like her physically, physical appearance. Cool. You don't have to like the way she talks. Fine. But what bothers me is this woman is giving y'all reality of telling the world how she lost her company, how she was bankrupt, how she got bankrupt because she signed on as a personal guarantor. And she's educating you guys on what that means when you have the ability to have a company that you're getting investors. If you sign on as a personal guarantor, God forbid something happens to your company, you're on the hook as an individual. You're on the hook. So you guys are even listening to what she's educating you guys on because y'all so focused on her look or whatever. And she's giving y'all the reality. What bothers me so much is you guys don't even like people who are real. Y'all love people who had a heyday. Y'all love people who look good in a mumu dress or who looks good in a bodycon dress, who has a great weave. And y'all don't love the person who was giving y'all reality. K. Michelle left the operating room and got her nails done afterwards. Yep. Because she was dedicated to making sure, let me show y'all my reality. She didn't have to call the producers and say, my ass is leaking, come film it.

Speaker 4:
[36:01] Yeah. You know what I mean?

Speaker 2:
[36:03] Just this weekend, a wonderful person on Twitter, and I'm so sorry because I like to excite my sources. He posted the highest rated, the top 20 highest rated shows on Bravo. 20 out of millions. 19 out of 20 were Atlanta Housewives.

Speaker 5:
[36:23] Produced by who?

Speaker 2:
[36:27] They were produced by me. Thank you.

Speaker 3:
[36:30] Okay.

Speaker 5:
[36:30] Yeah. Say the rest of the sentence, friend.

Speaker 2:
[36:32] Thank you, baby. And my thing is this, that's why I don't, when y'all try to say Carlos, shut up, you're talking about girl. You're watching a show I helped build. You're watching a show that I made iconic. You're watching 20 fucking episodes that I produced, including Jersey Housewives. You know, I'm the motherfucker, who knows what he's talking about.

Speaker 3:
[36:50] Which was a 20th show on there.

Speaker 2:
[36:53] You said what?

Speaker 3:
[36:53] The 20th show. 19 out of 20 were Atlanta. The 20th was Jersey.

Speaker 2:
[36:58] Your other show.

Speaker 3:
[36:59] It was iBlog also, who is the person who tweeted.

Speaker 2:
[37:02] Thank you. Thank you. And my point is saying all that, what was so iconic about season six, shout out to Lorraine Haltel, Lauren, Brent, Luke, Bianca, my whole team, Lizzy. Lizzy worked on that season two. Kamar, but let's go with Nona. Okay, Luke. Okay, fine. Now, my point is, there's no I in team. My point is, y'all fell in love with those 20 episodes because they were real. You have Porsha going through a divorce. You have Porsha who moved in NeNe's neighborhood and NeNe said, well, damn, bitch, I didn't know that you're a bad friend. You have Phaedra and Apollo dealing with rumors that Kenya allegedly tried to suck his D, okay? You have Kandi dealing with her mother not liking this man she's engaged to, all right? You have moments of reality. When y'all talk about a show being bad, blame y'all. Y'all give so much hype to some of these girls who don't do shit. Yeah. So when a show is bad, blame yourself because I can tell you what happens is the network executives, they look on Twitter and say, well, what are they talking about when they're talking about that person? And that person does nothing, does nothing. But y'all like the way she looks. Pinky Cole is giving us real reality. Pinky Cole is educating black women on, I'm giving y'all the rawness of what it is to be a businesswoman. Angela Oakley is telling y'all, I lost $2 million because of bad investment. Y'all hate real reality stars. But what y'all do love, y'all love a bad bitch. Y'all love somebody who looks good in a Fashion Nova outfit. But the woman who is trying to give y'all good television, y'all don't like her. And then y'all wonder why these shows suck. They suck because of you.

Speaker 4:
[39:01] I will co-sign 1000%, all it takes for someone to be best dressed or well dressed for people to like them on Reality TV. And I saw that on several of the shows. You see it on Basketball Wives. You see it on Atlanta Housewives. You see it on a lot of the other shows. That's all it takes and you saw, I noticed a difference with Kim K. They hated her when she was wearing those bandage dresses. When she changed her style up, I saw the fakest shit I ever seen in the business. I saw people who I knew were hating on her. All of a sudden they loved her. It was because of the clothes. That is how simple minded some, not all of the fans are. People will hate you because of how you dress or you're not coming with it. That's all it really takes. That is a frustrating thing to watch. Because what you do is you make these people go broke, trying to satisfy y'all to be the most liked on a show, and go run their credit cards up, and live outside their means to be the most liked one with these clothes. These girls, I'm telling you, not all. A lot of these Atlanta girls that we're talking about now, they actually been on there for a long time. They have bread. But they will go broke renting clothes so you can like them, so they can get another season. Then you have a girl like Pinky Cole that you don't like because her hair is shorter, her clothes, you don't like her body or whatever. She's a natural black woman and people giving her some... I actually am a huge fan of how vulnerable this woman is willing to be on this show. At the detriment of probably her own marriage, she's telling us stuff before she's telling her husband. I mean, that may not be good for him, but as far as a reality producer, that is gold right there. That is gold. She's giving you 100% and she's not even getting the big contract yet. She's being a great reality star and the fact that people are hating on her because of superficial things is crazy. I think she's dope.

Speaker 3:
[40:48] K. Michelle and Pinky Cole were definitely going to give us a lot more than the girls that we have seen already because they have something to prove. This is their first season. So I'm not shocked that they're giving us a lot. I do think with, Carlos, you said like people just love the girls who look good or whatever in Pinky Cole, Angela, they're giving us a real reality. I also think that fandom loves conflict, right? When the girls are reading each other or they're at each other's throats, the high conflict, the heavy drama, that's also something that the fandom wants or they want to talk about. I think that's also ruining the show a lot, right? Because K. Michelle said something in the nail salon scene when they were all asking her, she was okay, and she goes, how am I supposed to fight with y'all and y'all are being so nice to me, right? So that colored the way I looked at her for the rest of the episode with this thing with Porsha, because I had also seen people in the audience saying she was dragging it, she was so offended by it. And I'm like, well, yes, she is, that's her first bone, right? She thinks that she needs to be in conflict with these people. This is her first piece of conflict. So of course, she's going to hold on to this because that's what she thinks the show is supposed to be. And so I think the conflict, people wanting a lot of conflict, and they haven't had a lot. I mean, it's been like light stuff so far, but I think that's also something that the audience is-

Speaker 2:
[42:07] Yeah, and the thing is this, I like real conflict. That's why for me, it's one of those things where the heyday of these shows was when the girls really had conflict, like, Phaedra was really mad that she thought her husband was flirting with Kenya and vice versa. Like, and every woman in the world watched that and said, I get it. I understand that, right? I can get that. Candy dealing with her mother not liking her dude. Women, I can hang on to that. I get it. So when the conflict arose because of those things, it made sense. And I think for me, look, I want to get into the Shamia scene now too because Shamia is somebody who is a gorgeous woman and she's, and listen, she's a kept woman. She works because she wants to go out the house and work.

Speaker 3:
[43:07] She doesn't have to go to the apartment.

Speaker 2:
[43:09] Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 5:
[43:10] They're called passion projects.

Speaker 2:
[43:12] Yes. So this whole thing with the rum, I'm going to say this on the outside looking in, and Shamia, you can call me if I got this wrong. I looked at that scene and said, Shamia, I want you to have a business. I'm not sure if this is the one. And the reason why I'm saying I'm not sure if this is the one is because I don't want Shamia to feel that she has to have something to promote because she's on the show. You know, one thing that, I'm beginning the Reality Star's name. It'll come to me. I like it when a Reality Star is on the show and she's like, my man's rich. I'm on here because I like to have fun. And that's that. I saw some of what she was doing with Gerald. I thought Gerald, I don't know if y'all caught this, Gerald really does love his wife. And he really is trying to help her. And it saddened me that Shamia took that as, well, maybe he doesn't want me to have my own thing. No, he's looking out for you. And you came to that realization, unfortunately, in the boardroom. And Shamia, don't you ever pump your ass in a boardroom against this. Don't, Shamia, I love you now. And I'll see you at the Hawks game. Don't, I don't care. That whole rumbump, Shamia, don't do that, baby. I think Gerald is an amazing husband. And Shamia's story to me is so interesting. And again, this is a personal story. I think a lot of women can relate to Shamia being like, yes, I have all of this, but I want something of my own. And my hope is that this season we get to see her struggle with, I just want something of my own. But that particular thing, I think based on Gerald's intelligence, this one particular thing does not make sense.

Speaker 4:
[45:10] I think that's admirable that she wants. And I think that's a, you know, I like women that want to have their own even if they don't have to. And also there's probably like the added pressure, like they're on a reality show. She doesn't want to be viewed as someone that's just home as a cat woman because she has to go in a battle with these girls every day and hold their own. And it's a lot easier when you have a successful business, you have something you can hang your own hat on, you know, and there is a pressure. And I will even say this in Porsha's defense a little bit with the pressure of having to have a scene. So sometimes, and K. Michelle, sometimes you got to put a little 10 on 20 for the show. So it's hard to know when we're giving commentary, like I'm going to go by, you know, just calling it what it is, but I got to keep reminding myself at the end of the day, they are on a reality show. And sometimes you may have to go a little hard or drag something a little bit more important, 10 on 20, because there is a pressure of the show, just like on the scene with Shemia and her man. I mean, you still have that pressure of you are on a show. You know? You know what I mean?

Speaker 5:
[46:12] I'm concerned for Shemia. She was my favorite last season and I'm concerned for her because she started off with the trajectory of like a Trace, not Tracee, a Stacey, but now she's turning more into a she by she ray joggers early summer, spring, fall. I think that she was popular, but now the performative, somebody posted, I think Destiny posted it, and said, Shamia is funny but she always goes a beat too long. The joke always lingers a couple of beats longer than it needs to, and it reads a little bit desperate. I think Shamia really wants to be relevant for you to try to have a peach-flavored rum in a place where peaches don't grow. Also, I want to say about the Pinky thing, because my Wi-Fi went out when we were talking about Pinky. Pinky's greatest sin this entire season is not having a lace front. Anybody who's not in love with Pinky is someone who's a slave to optics. If Pinky, with the same body, same everything, just had her or nine little Phaedra special lace front, and was dressed a certain way, I think the audience would realize how hard she's working. I think there's a laziness that happens. Even when you look at music, what do they say? All you need is a clean white t-shirt to launch a man. But for a woman, you have to get her injections and a lace front, and contour, and make sure that she's wearing a onesie, and her boobs are propped up. I think there's a styling issue with the expectations of Atlanta, where there's a grace that I saw them give to Angela, that they didn't give to Pinky, and honestly, the only difference was optics. And I think there's something problematic about it, because how do we keep saying, we want these shows to have realistic-looking women, which I'll never cut them any slack when we finally have them. So justice for Pinky, I think she's probably working for her check the hardest, even harder than K. Michelle. Right now I think K. Michelle is clearly the star. And I really feel like Shemeah is going to get desperate. And in the eyes of Sheree is going to probably become a bone collector. I don't know about the season so far, but she's acting like this rom company is not going to work out. And now she's going to make stirring trouble for her entire storyline for the rest of the season. I'm already getting that feeling.

Speaker 2:
[48:05] Jazmine, what are your thoughts on what Blue said about Pinky?

Speaker 3:
[48:08] I disagree not to like bean soup you, but just the last Monday Night Live, I was like, I'm lukewarm on Pinky. Like I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about her. It doesn't have anything to do with the way she looks. I think it's the way that she comes across, and we had this conversation. She feels almost too normal on the show, or at least last like the first episode or two. That was my takeaway.

Speaker 5:
[48:34] What about this one?

Speaker 3:
[48:35] After this episode, like I just said, I think she is-

Speaker 5:
[48:38] Because this is the episode where I thought that if she was going to win you over without it being optical, it would have been this one. So if you still don't believe her after this one, it is optical to me. I'm sorry.

Speaker 3:
[48:47] Yeah, I'm still not like, oh my gosh, I'm in love with her, but I am like, I'm very curious about what's going on. I'm curious about the relationship. How the hell did you go to a bankruptcy meeting without- You got out of the bed with your man, went to a bankruptcy meeting and didn't tell him that's where you were going? I was in here like, oh, I wouldn't know.

Speaker 5:
[49:07] And told the producers though, Jaz. You told the producers though.

Speaker 3:
[49:09] And told everybody else. Like we were watching it. That was interesting to me. So yes, after this episode-

Speaker 5:
[49:17] She's working.

Speaker 3:
[49:17] Yeah, she is doing-

Speaker 5:
[49:18] Pinky and a lace friend. Pinky just get a lace friend, okay?

Speaker 2:
[49:21] Listen, we'll say this. As a producer, and this is No Shade, we love it when talent calls us before they partners. Because we're like, oh, really?

Speaker 3:
[49:31] Carlos, you're ruining their relationship.

Speaker 4:
[49:33] I don't care about their relationships.

Speaker 2:
[49:38] When Baphine Frankel water broke, she called her producer first, and then called her doctor second.

Speaker 4:
[49:44] Uh-oh.

Speaker 5:
[49:45] A mess.

Speaker 3:
[49:47] And then her husband third.

Speaker 4:
[49:49] I do think that that's going to be an issue down the line. Because her husband's going to see, I mean, that's going to be such an issue. And she's not the only one in the show telling us stuff before their husband.

Speaker 3:
[50:02] That was the biggest thing for me this episode. I was like, that signaled to me so loudly. Like Pinky does not trust her husband's judgment or his council. Like I would never go into a meeting like that and not tell Ray. Like, I won't even have scheduled the meeting without talking to him first. It's like not to get permission, but like this is a huge thing. You're filing bankruptcy, and you got- Does he come off beta to you?

Speaker 5:
[50:28] Jazmine, does he come off beta to you? Be honest.

Speaker 3:
[50:31] Beta?

Speaker 5:
[50:32] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[50:32] I think in the presence of her, because she's very dominant, which she said these were her words, not mine. She said she's a very dominant woman. I don't think he's beta though. I think it's just really hard to be super alpha with an alpha woman like that.

Speaker 2:
[50:49] I think to your point this though. To your point, we're going to have a real conversation, right? If y'all are offended by it, I apologize in advance, because Lord knows y'all are more offended by what we say than how your girls-

Speaker 4:
[51:00] Wait, do we still have to apologize? Because y'all already are.

Speaker 3:
[51:04] You don't.

Speaker 2:
[51:05] I'm not.

Speaker 5:
[51:05] I'm not. Carlos, the comment on the screen is why I was asking Jaz that question.

Speaker 3:
[51:12] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[51:13] Well, I was going to say, okay, so I was going to say this. I never met Derek, right? I do think Derek is beta. I do. Oprah is with Stedman, and Oprah is a force and she's all these things. Have you ever met Stedman? Stedman is a very masculine, attractive, smart, intelligent man who loves his own life and doesn't need to borrow Oprah to be that. I think Derek is that. But I definitely think when a woman is alpha, she does attract beta men. And let's be real, beta men does exist. It doesn't make you less masculine. It just means you're more calm, you know? I think, listen, my advice to Pinky would be this. And my advice to Pinky is the same I'll give Shamia. You both are married to very smart men. Why the fuck aren't you guys taking advantage of that? That's weird to me. I would love to pull a talk. I do anyway. Hey, Claudia. I would love to... I know. It's my joke. I would love to talk to my man about my business. Like, this is your partner. So the fact that you're going to remove his, Pinky's man, if y'all don't know anything about Derek, Derek is a major deal in Atlanta. He owns a lot of Philly cheesesteak. Derek has a shitload. And Gerald, as we know, the HBAC has a shitload. I'm sad that Shamia and Pinky don't take advantage of the man. You're more comfortable laying with him having his kids, but you're not comfortable bending his ear for advice.

Speaker 5:
[52:54] Hyperindependence is the trauma response. That's why I was saying there, whenever you see an alpha woman who was ready to receive love, what do we all say? I'm sure, Jazz, you said it. Claudia, I know you and I have said this before to each other. I would love to be around a man who I can let my guard down and not have to be the one in charge all the time. I just need a man that I could trust enough to do it. So half of the time when you see a woman like Pinky not acquiesce, what Jazz is saying is, hey, maybe I don't believe in your leadership. The other half though, you have hyperindependence as a trauma response and you don't know how to receive the thing you've been asking for. And what I saw was I kept on thinking, does he not know how to be a thought partner or does she suck at asking for help? I think she sucks at asking for help. She sucks at asking for help more than it being a reflection of him. And so I was like, oh, I'm watching him for those things that would make me feel like she has a reason. I think this is her. I think she's that 50 percent of the alpha women who claim they want a man who can be a thought partner, but who does not know how to acquiesce and relinquish control enough to actually let thought partnership happen.

Speaker 4:
[53:59] I felt that watching them that I don't think he's beta. I think he's a very big deal in Atlanta, like Carlos said. I think that they are more, I think there is a competition between them. I think they're in competition. That's what I think. And if you're in competition with your mate, whether he's with her or she's with him, you do not want to admit to your competition that you have failed. You do not want to tell them that I did not, I messed up with the money. You want to go handle it, so you can jump back in the game. Like, no, we good. You made your million this week. I made my million. They try to match each other with success. That's my opinion. I've been with beta men, and I actually don't dislike beta men. I think it is difficult for two alphas to be together. It's damn impossible. Everyone says they want to power a couple until they get in one. And the reality of it, it is too hard. And beta men usually are very, very, very, very good for alpha women because it works. It works. You know, as long as you're not disrespecting him. I think they're in competition for a few reasons. A, him saying he had to humble her. And she's like, oh, she clocked it like we clocked it. Okay. She's not dumb. She heard that. So it's another reason when she's not going to want to run to him and feel safe to tell him that I messed up with my business. Hell no. When you're in competition with your mate, you are not telling him your L's. You're telling your producers your L before you're telling your man because you want to still be a winner in his eyes, which sucks.

Speaker 3:
[55:20] No, that's my opinion. Yeah, that's crazy.

Speaker 5:
[55:22] No, no, you might be right. I hate it if you're right, though. I would hate that.

Speaker 3:
[55:25] That's so crazy. That's crazy. To be married to someone and not feel safe enough. You've had how many children with this man? Three, back to back. Three, back to back. And you don't feel safe telling him about your business?

Speaker 4:
[55:40] They jumped in because, listen, in the beginning, two rich people, two poppin people, you get together, it's brand new, they got married. Yes, they got married before they really knew each other. They back to back to back kids. And then when the dust settles, then they probably talked real business. I bet you there was no business talk in the beginning. She knew he was poppin and he knew she was poppin. She knew he was poppin and vice versa.

Speaker 2:
[56:00] And you thought it was a good luck, probably.

Speaker 4:
[56:01] It was a good luck. But they probably was so busy fuckin havin a good, brand new sex and they first got together. And when the dust settles, look it, she's crying a lot. She does not feel, she's sad. She's depressed.

Speaker 2:
[56:13] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[56:13] In my opinion, let me just say that. I'm not a, I'm not guiding her.

Speaker 2:
[56:17] In my advice to the ladies, hey ladies, because Claudia says no straight men watch this. So hey ladies.

Speaker 5:
[56:24] Kevin Straightman. Maybe two.

Speaker 2:
[56:26] Claudia, maybe two?

Speaker 4:
[56:27] Yeah, guys that I'm dating.

Speaker 5:
[56:29] Ah!

Speaker 2:
[56:31] Thank you for breaking it.

Speaker 5:
[56:32] Oh, that's a flex, honey.

Speaker 2:
[56:33] Thank you, Claudia, for breaking it in our straight male viewership.

Speaker 5:
[56:35] You're welcome.

Speaker 4:
[56:35] I'm bringing the straight man demographic. Hey, woos, I'll call y'all later.

Speaker 5:
[56:39] Not y'all later, damn.

Speaker 2:
[56:41] Thank you for your service. I will say this. You're at a disadvantage, ladies. Ladies, this is coming from y'all, y'all big gay brother. I implore all of you all to be successful and the best and to make your own money. I want all those things for you. If you happen to be with a man that is successful, you're doing yourself a disservice by not bouncing ideas off of him, being in competition with him, or trying to impress him that you can do this without him. You're going to lose. It's not a maybe, you are going to lose. My last example will be, hey Oprah, the reason why we have the Oprah Winfrey network is because Oprah was at a hotel with Stedman and she was complaining about what she saw on the TV. Stedman said, well, start your own network then. She said, what do you mean? He said, you can't just complain about what you're seeing on television, you're Oprah, so start your own network. And she did it. So take advantage of being with a man who you love and bouncing things off of him, you're doing yourself a disservice because you're going to end up dating, maybe not say that, as a transition to Black and Andrew.

Speaker 4:
[57:55] Can I just add one thing about Pinky? And I just agreed, I saw a comment in the chat. I also think that there's a lot of pressure on Pinky, like because of like how people view her aesthetically, which I think is bullshit. I think she's dope. I like her. She has that added pressure of being super successful, right? Because she knows like that's what like the, that's like her thing. Like some people just get by on being like with the BBLs and the weaves and the lashes and all that. Pinky is her, I think the most attractive thing about her. That's like her standout thing. We all have our standout thing, personality, body, whatever. She's supposed to be the very successful, wealthy person. So when that falls by the wayside, that puts a lot of pressure on you. Like I gotta keep it up because like that was a thing. Maybe that was part of the reason why her man was attracted to her because of her business acumen. So when that starts falling apart, do you want to really tell the person that fell in love with you for that? Maybe. I'm assuming. I make a lot of assumptions tonight, but she doesn't stop opening up to her husband. She's going to crack. She's kind of cracking. She's cracking now and I felt bad for her.

Speaker 2:
[58:54] Yeah. And thank you to the one straight guy that was in the comments.

Speaker 3:
[58:58] The third straight guy, because Claudia's two boos and then this guy.

Speaker 4:
[59:03] How do you know that's not my boo?

Speaker 2:
[59:06] I want to read that we do have straight men who go on this podcast, I mean, who listen. So, Pooh the producer, 3695 says, Nah, my wife and I have been in business together since 2009 and discussed everything. And she's a cancer survivor, so yes, till death do us part.

Speaker 5:
[59:28] Love that. I love that.

Speaker 2:
[59:30] Love that. Love that. What I don't love is when you're on a day with a man and he walks in with his shirt open. Drew, Drew, y'all know I love Drew Sedora and there's not one person in this world who can make me hate her, right? I love Drew. What I will say is this, I don't know Black. So this is not this to Black. It really isn't. I don't know him. I think is highly inappropriate to go on a date inside of a restaurant and your shirt is all the way open. And Drew, in the words of Stacey Rush.

Speaker 5:
[60:10] Carlos, your shirt is open and you back for coochie for seven minutes straight. I've never seen that much coochie begging off of an R&B video in my entire freaking life. He said, friends, we're benefits, yes? Yes, we're friends, but the benefits. Does this job come with benefits? I would like to benefit. Oh, but what if we're just friends? No, I'm not here for your personality, ho. When do I get my benefits? At a certain point, I said, oh my God, just give him some in the bathroom, girl. Y'all cut. Somebody helped us. This man was begging for vagina the entire scene. And I was dying on the inside, like, girl, you could have just stayed with Ralph for all this. I don't know. That was facetious at the end, but no. The beggars. Black spent the first episode on the phone, not taking any pee breaks, and the third episode with his titties out, begging for puss. I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan.

Speaker 2:
[61:01] Jazmine, go ahead, Claudia.

Speaker 4:
[61:04] Jazmine, you want to go?

Speaker 3:
[61:05] I don't have anything to add. I'm like, no, no. Not working for me, sweetie. Carlos, you know I've historically been very hard on Drew. Very hard on Drew. But even I was like, Drew can do better. I thought even Drew can do better than this.

Speaker 5:
[61:23] Now that's shade.

Speaker 3:
[61:24] It's just a running joke. I think Drew is a beautiful, beautiful woman, but she's just... Anyway, yeah.

Speaker 4:
[61:36] I like Black in real life too. He's cool. He has that hookah company, which I smoke, those Black smoke hookahs. I love them. They're really good. He's a great businessman. He's rich. He's got a life together. But honestly, and I like Drew and I will definitely, I'll listen, I'll try to make an excuse for my girl. But I felt like he came into the scene acting for the first 45, 75 percent of it, it felt fake. It felt like a script was being followed, or he was putting on for the cameras. I did feel towards the end of the conversation, he was normal, but the beginning, the first half of it was cringe, and I felt bad, and I felt like even Drew recognized it, and she was trying her best to play it off like, okay. So you guys can't play that part. No, no, no.

Speaker 5:
[62:24] So he didn't want cooch, Claudia? He didn't want cooch? I was just an act? All the begging?

Speaker 4:
[62:27] No, I think he wants cooch, but I do think he's one of the four straight men left in Atlanta. I do think that, but I do think that it just, I think he came in there with a, like he wanted to show, like she's desired, she's wanted, I want you, you're sexy, so let me do that. But I think he kind of said things he wasn't supposed to. Like, I don't know if she wanted him to say, the friends with benefits thing.

Speaker 2:
[62:47] Or I bought her kids gifts?

Speaker 4:
[62:49] Yeah. Well, I would say, give him the gifts.

Speaker 3:
[62:53] I thought that was a sweet gesture.

Speaker 2:
[62:54] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[62:54] When I say like she could do better, I know, you know, just cause he's not like the type of guy that I'm attracted to, I can recognize that she might find him attractive, or that people find him attractive. So I'm not saying it like that. He just seems like a player to me, like somebody who just thinks like- That's what I was saying. Yeah. So I, that's why I was like, I feel like Drew could do better than this guy. Like, and he wasn't even talking like, let's move into the direction of like being in a relationship. Like, I mean, he did try to say like, you don't give girlfriend, you give wife, whatever that means in the words.

Speaker 4:
[63:23] That's why it didn't make sense for him to hit it with the friends with benefits. I'm like, black, you kind of hurt your girl by doing that. Like if he was coming in, I'd give her a salad. You know, you gotta bring a love interest on, we get it. But don't come on here and ask me to be friends with benefits. Come on in and say, let's take it slow, let's see where this goes. I would be mad if someone hit me with the friends with benefits thing. I feel like it's kind of giving me like, it's helping with the hope. You don't know, let's give him like, I don't take you seriously. Come on.

Speaker 5:
[63:46] Remember when Mia had that man who was still with her when she was married? Maybe he saw Mia in her side piece and wanted to be clear, you're still married. And if I see you as a wife, I can't be a husband until your first husband's out the way. He did say that. It felt more like he did not want to be seen like Mia's side boy and wanted to be like, hey, just to be clear, while you're still married, we can't be anything. I can't see, I see you as a wife, but I can't be a husband while you currently have a husband take care of that. But until then, can I give me some benefits? I would like to be.

Speaker 3:
[64:19] I don't want to be with you if you're married, but I still want to have sex with you, even if you're still married. Like, I want to do that. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[64:27] So, Drew, we want you to go on another date. And listen, like Claudia said, black is successful. It's not about black. It's more about he gives player vibes. The open shirt, it was giving music video. It wasn't giving a real scene. It was giving, I'm on Atlanta Housewives and I'm about to show off. That's what I got from it. All good. Last night is K. Michelle and Porsha did meet up. I know we ran through this. I just want to ask you ladies, what did y'all think about the apology Porsha gave only for K. Michelle to say in her confessional that she still doesn't buy it?

Speaker 3:
[65:09] I'll take it. I-

Speaker 2:
[65:12] Whatever that means.

Speaker 3:
[65:14] Yeah, whatever that means. Like I said, I feel like K is going to drag this out. K. Michelle might drag this out until she gets into another conflict that she can then jump into. Because I think in her mind, she thinks that's the role that she's on this show to play. I don't think this is the last that we've heard of with this issue from K. Michelle specifically. But it did seem like they made up at the lunch that they had, which I thought was a really cute scene at the end. But yeah, I think K. Michelle is going to hang on to this and be offended by it until she has something else to be offended by. And then she'll go and do that.

Speaker 5:
[65:48] Then I hope something else happens in the next episode, because I can't do another episode of this. I pray to God that Drew drops a drink or whatever the hell is supposed to happen, because I can't do another scene of y'all making me defend Porsha. No offense, Porsha, but come on, this is exhausting. And I will say this, K. Michelle made that comment about y'all so nice in the premiere as well. This is actually the second time she's made a quip subconsciously about how am I supposed to fight y'all if y'all being so nice. It's not come up twice in three episodes. K. Michelle is a star on a bad day, K. Michelle is better than most. So I'm not worried about her performance this season. I just hope we see her pull a Pinky and just give it to us without all the thinking. I want to see her a little bit more uninhibited and also too, because K. Michelle and Porsha are having this weird moment and Porsha was supposed to be her nice nasty friend from the premiere. I'm just wondering, is Cynthia and K. Michelle and Pinky gonna be a trio? Like I'm curious who her girl squad is, because she has such pain around female friendships. I don't want to see K. Michelle feeling like it's the world against her the entire season. That would actually break my heart and be a waste.

Speaker 3:
[66:54] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[66:56] I think it won't be, because honestly, I feel like a lot of the niceness the girls are showing to K. Michelle is because they're afraid of her, including Porsha. I do think they're afraid of her.

Speaker 5:
[67:04] Yeah, I think you're right.

Speaker 4:
[67:05] Yeah, I think they're real afraid of her. And I also think K. Michelle is saying, wow, they're really nice because she's coming from how hard it was on Love & Hip Hop. One of the things I talked about before. I think when you're coming from that, like on 10, you're coming to like a 7. You're like, oh my God. Oh, wow. We actually have a scene. We can actually hug it out. But I do think that was good for them. They're like, you know, I do like that. Porsha did apologize to her and that did feel sincere what she did at that moment. I did like that because I too don't want this to be dragged out. Unless we see more evidence that it was on some mean girl shit, then that's one thing. But if it really wasn't, then y'all are right. If it was just like some neurodivergent shit, then fine. I'll go with that. Okay. And I want them, because I do enjoy the scenes when they are kiki-ing and having fun. I think it's cute. And I think it's needed after all the years of, after the Brit-eaty of it all and how contentious things we're getting last season. Like, I want to see the girls kiki-ing, having fun and making jokes. I think we, the world needs more of that in these shows. So, if she's, if K. Michelle was it and it's real, I want that to be the case. Cause those two together could be funny. Cause we're gonna need more of the Porsha than just dating different people every season. It needs to be like, and Porsha has the personality to bring a lot of funny to the show. She has. That's what made us so endearing. And I want to get back to that, not just like, you know, just denying shit.

Speaker 2:
[68:24] So, raindrops. And if you're gonna be in Atlanta, if any of you guys are in Atlanta, Charlotte May's Black Effect Network, I'm having a pan, on a panel. I am on a panel with Tika Sumpter, Kev on stage, and a bunch of other people. They're excited. And a bunch of other people that's Saturday at the Pullman Yards. And I'm also going to do a live podcast with a very special guest that I will announce this week. So get your tickets at blackeffect.com.

Speaker 4:
[68:57] Carlos, stay busy.

Speaker 2:
[68:58] All right.

Speaker 4:
[68:58] Look at everybody popping on this panel. Blue, have a great birthday. Happy birthday.

Speaker 2:
[69:02] Happy birthday, Blue. I love you so much. I love you, Claudia. I love you, Jazmine. I love you too, brother. And don't forget Bell Collective Birmingham, Friday, 8 o'clock. And Love & Marriage, Saturday.

Speaker 5:
[69:12] Bye, family.

Speaker 2:
[69:13] Bye, y'all. Reality with The King is executive produced by me, Carlos King, produced by Lizzie Nimitz, in a partnership with The Black Effect Network. You can also find us on my YouTube channel at vcraloskingh.com.