S. Samuel
Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo is embracing the controversy his pending "All My Babies' Mamas" reality television series has sparked since its teaser dropped last month, proudly telling fans to get on the hate bandwagon.
Despite the backlash, Shawty has asked critics what their true beef is with a father who provides for his 11 children.
“You can hate all you want to, I didn’t ask for it. It just happened. Now that it happened, I’m supposed to turn my back against it?” Shawty Lo told MTV News about his 11 children and untraditional family structure. “If I wasn’t taking care of my kids then you would really dog me out, but I’m taking care of my kids, providing for my family. I don’t know what else to say. … I take care of all my kids. … Outta all the 10 baby mamas, I just have problems outta one. That’s it. She has two kids by me, and she feel like I’m supposed to do more for her kids, and she don’t wanna work. She just want me to straight take care of them, but it’s all love. I handle it.” (MTV)
Lo also provided an explanation for how he came to having so many kids.
“I came to be one of the largest drug dealers to come from Atlanta, Bankhead area and I started havin’ kids. When the money came, a lot of women came,” he said, estimating he was a millionaire by the time he turned 21. “Once you feel like a girl was your girlfriend or whatever, the rubber probably came off,” he said candidly. “They wouldn’t have an abortion. They used to take the money and run with it, and they’d have a baby by the most popular guy in the street, and that’s how I had all them kids.” (MTV)
Activist Sabrina Lamb has launched an online petition against the show and Oxygen Channel in hope of pulling it from airing this spring.
Rapper Carlos ‘Shawty Lo’ Walker needs condoms and therapy, not a reality show, says Sabrina Lamb, a prolific writer, commentator and now activist. She may have gotten her wish: the show’s 13-minute Youtube trailer has been pulled, and mention of this show is nowhere to be found on Internet Movie Database, though there could be other reasons for that. Oxygen’s description of the show, posted in December, was not on their website earlier today. Last time I looked, the petition (which names Oxygen Media and production entities Electus and DiGa Vision) had about 13,500 signatures and was gaining by the minute. (Forbes)
Radio host Morris “Mo’Kelly” O’Kelly issued an open statement on the show last month.
“A reality TV show featuring a rapper, his TEN baby mamas and ELEVEN children? And you thought this was going to be good for your business and profile within the African-American community, on a network co-founded by Oprah Winfrey? I will save the pith of my commentary for my columns and programs, but in short…this show can not happen. As a respected African-American media professional I can not in good conscience allow this program to move forward. There must be accountability as to the programming decisions at your network.” (Statement)
