Ogom “O.G.” Chijindu revealed on Feb. 12 during a sit-down interview with Storm Monroe that several cast members of “Basketball Wives” refused to shoot any scenes with her. The reality star didn’t disclose any names, but did say two eventually changed their minds.
When asked about what fans can expect from her during this season of “BBW,” the former athlete told the host at the 27:18 mark of the interview, “Well, what you can expect from me is me being myself. Me addressing everything that comes my way the way that I saw fit. And I will tell you this I never at any point in time refused to film with anyone. I was completely open.”
She added although there was tension, she was ready for anything that came her way. “I was completely ready to listen, I was completely ready to tackle and try to find resolution any way, shape, or form if that was possible. However, I had to work within the constraints of finding out that four other people did not want to film with me, two of which eventually came around … I want to put that out there because, unfortunately, I don’t control what you guys see once again so I just want to be very transparent because I think it’s important for the audience to know that I’m here doing my job.”
During the interview, the 36-year-old also commented on her “BBW” co-star Evelyn Lozada’s claims that the “colorism” backlash has lost her lucrative business deals and caused her to fear for her safety after receiving numerous death threats. Chijindu said it wasn’t her remarks that were to blame, but rather Lozada’s actions after those claims.
“What I don’t like is when I bring it up,” she said at the 19:11 mark, “and everybody has a platform, and a moment to address it, and instead of addressing it, you call me all kinds of names you say I’m lying. You dismiss it, and then once you get backlash — once people are saying we’ve been saying this, this has been an ongoing issue, and now you’re feeling uncomfortable, now you want to talk about it.”
The “BBW” star added following the incident — which occurred almost two years ago — that she had given the mother of two ample opportunities to apologize.
She said at the 19:31 mark: “Well, it’s been almost two years now so I gave you plenty of time; my number’s still the same. Instagram, you know the handle; you could have reached out to me. You could have did a public apology. I mean, other girls have gotten public apologies if you felt compelled to. So if you didn’t do it you didn’t feel compelled to do it because you didn’t see anything wrong with your behavior.”
Chijindu concluded her statement by saying Lozada’s suit against her was based on her opinion that she felt entitled to give following her encounter with the 45-year-old. “You think me addressing you for what I see you to be, which in my opinion is a racist. I’m entitled to my opinion. That’s the problem. It’s like everybody’s got something to say; everybody’s got an opinion. The difference is our job is literally to get paid for an opinion. She had many opinions about me behind my back, okay. I didn’t go and sue nobody. The problem is I countered that with facts, and that’s the difference.”
Lozada initially filed the suit in 2019 after claiming she lost many brand endorsement deals because of her “BBW” castmate’s accusations. She was suing for defamation and infliction of emotional distress. Chijindu later went on to countersue Lozada.
It’s unclear if the issue has been resolved.
