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Civil rights group ColorOfChange wants to give reality TV violence a knockout punch.
The group is specifically targeting Bravo’s African-American centered programs, and in a statement, ColorOfChange expresses concern over Sunday’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, which saw Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams get into a violent physical confrontation.
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“After weeks of promoting the RHOA reunion altercation, on Sunday executive producer Andy Cohen finally condemned the violent behavior of cast members — completely ignoring the staged hostile environment that provoked the altercation and the troubling pattern of violent, stereotypical portrayals of Black people across many of Bravo’s Black reality franchises,” reads the statement, obtained exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter.
(See the fight below.)
NBCUniversal did not respond to request for comment.
“We’ve been in contact with NBCUniversal last week verbally and shared concerns in writing — specifically about this Real Housewives of Atlanta confrontation that was coming up,” Arisha Hatch, campaign director at ColorOfChange, tells THR.
The group would like to see Bravo enact policies similar to what VH1 has in place for Basketball Wives. The network and producers adopted a no excessive physical confrontations policy for the show in 2012.
Hatch says ColorOfChange is not calling for the cancellation of Real Housewives of Atlanta as the show — violence aside — does contain positive images of African-American women and families.
Andy Cohen addressed the fight on Twitter after the reunion special aired:
Call me crazy guys but I didn’t see that coming. I hear y’all about the props but at the time I didnt see that result coming
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) April 21, 2014
@1LisaMack the idea of two women are going to get physical isn’t top of mind for me. Sorry. If I saw it coming I would’ve stopped it sooner
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) April 21, 2014
Read the full statement from ColorOfChange below.
“From the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion to the second season of Married to Medicine, the physical violence displayed during Bravo’s Sunday primetime lineup was deeply alarming. After weeks of promoting the RHOA reunion altercation, on Sunday executive producer Andy Cohen finally condemned the violent behavior of cast members — completely ignoring the staged hostile environment that provoked the altercation and the troubling pattern of violent, stereotypical portrayals of Black people across many of Bravo’s Black reality franchises.
“Research shows that dehumanizing portrayals of Black people on television lead to real-world consequences for Black folks — influencing how we are treated by doctors, judges, teachers and lawmakers. No matter how entertaining, this should be the last fight between Black women that Bravo profits from.”
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