Daytime Emmy Award-winning television talk show “The Real” aired its final episode on Friday, June 3, following a nearly nine-year run. The ever-changing series starred co-hosts Adrienne Houghton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai Jenkins, newcomer Garcelle Beauvais and former co-hosts Tamera Mowry-Housley, Tamar Braxton and actress and comedian Amanda Seales, who was noticeably left out of the farewell festivities.
The often outspoken 40-year-old star took to her Instagram shortly afterward, addressing her absence from the show’s farewell promotion. “So apparently ‘The Real,’ in their finale episode, did promo,” the actress said in her Saturday, June 4 post as she drew attention to a thumbnail behind her, which featured the hosts mentioned above sans the “Insecure” star.
“I am not featured in this thumbnail, and I am not featured in the farewell episode, apparently. I’ll have some things to say about that. Whew, chile… I must really be out here just shaking the table,” she quipped.
The “Bring the Funny” star also reacted to the news when a fan on Twitter asked, “Did Amanda Seales ask to be left out of the thumbnail? Was her contribution not appreciated?” Seales reacted to the post with, “Sure didn’t. But they can absolutely go duck themselves with a chainsaw for doing so.”
The actress garnered support from fans online who expressed that not only was it unprofessional to omit Seales but simply rude, including one user who slammed the series, writing, “The level of disrespect. And from a show that ‘celebrated’ women.” Another person commented, “That’s wrong idc how you put it. They hate a intelligent black woman that stands in her truth chiiii.”
“They can’t change herstory we know you were there,” wrote a third Instagram user.
While some critics tried to discredit Seales’ time as a host citing that she left just five months after joining for the show’s sixth season, fans pushed back in the comments section, including one person who wrote, “She may not have had the best experience and she share her truths upon departure but that does not mean her contribution should be erased!!!”
That person added, “Y’all saying she was on for “2.5 seconds”…the fact is she was there. She gave her time and energy and intellect…that should be respected. Tamar departed on less than good terms and even she is on there so….”
Shortly after leaving the show, Seales, who often spoke about her trouble at the new job, told fans, “It doesn’t feel good to my soul to be at a place where I can not speak to my people the way they need to be spoken to and where the people that are speaking to me in despairing ways are not being handled.”
