“The Real Housewives of Potomac” star Candiace Dillard Bassett recently became a trending topic online after bashing an extravagant prom send-off.
On Sunday, May 21, Dillard Bassett shared her opinion surrounding the growing trend of lavish prom send-offs after watching a viral video of two Philadelphia teenagers being cheered on as they unveiled their stunning ensembles.
Amid the enthusiastic reactions, the trend of prom send-offs showcases students’ creativity and style to kick off what should be an unforgettable night with friends. But the cost of how much is being spent on these lavish send-offs is what most are taken aback by.
Related: Philadelphia Mom Throws Epic Prom With ‘Black Panther’ Theme
The viral video shows the young couple walking out of a home to an eruption of confetti and balloons that cascaded up the building as a DJ played music and hyped up the crowd of supporters. There were also signs and backdrops that read “The Send Off Zahir’s Edition” and other clips of the pair posing near a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Lamborghini Urus, and other luxury vehicles.
Friends and family appeared to be dancing and standing around at the jam-packed send-off, which received masses of praise. But Dillard Bassett seemed to find the entire thing “too grown” and extra for her liking.
“I pray this tacky overdone prom trend is over by the time mine are ready,” she wrote on Twitter. “We are not doing this. They look nice though.”
Dillard and her husband of nearly five years, Chris Bassett, currently do not have any children together, but the 36-year-old singer seems adamant about her decision.
Shortly after her message, one user responded stating, “Idk sis I mean yes some of it looks tacky but overall this is culturally our event, latinas have Quince’s, Jewish people have bat mitzvah, and black people have Champagne parties. It’s our one big gala because without it, our kids have no bug celebration tradition. I love it.”
Dillard Bassett then replied, “I hear you! I still think it’s too grown.” Within these few days, her tweet has received over 10.2 million views, along with several fans who agreed with her stance.
One said, “Yeah, prom season is getting out of hand. I saw a girl with a beautiful train& shotguns laying on the train.. and the girl was holding a gun too,” to which she responded, “…and holding a stack in their hand…like, it’s too much.”
However, a few bashed the reality star for sharing her harsh opinions about children.
“This ain’t it girl. It’s one night for your children to be celebrated and to show them love, let them feel special. It’s nothing tacky about this, let’s stop attacking black folks for doing it up big the way they want too.”
“Girl Philly gone come for you they got the same type of money you got obviously to do this tread lightly miss girl.”
Doubling down on her statement, Dillard Bassett wrote, “It’s too grown. I don’t like it. And I’m not changing” and “I said what I said.”
Meanwhile, others brought up one of the “RHOP” star’s famous reality TV moments that many deemed less than classy.
“Now Candiace – you argue with women on national tv every week – you just can’t be the tacky police.”
“It’s also tacky getting dragged on tv yet here you are… getting dragged on tv.”
The above tweet referenced the Howard alum’s infamous brawl with her former cast mate Monique Samuels during the show’s fifth season in October 2020.
Before the intense physical altercation, Samuels flipped her co-star’s hair after the “Drive Back” singer dared the 39-year-old to “drag” her.
What started out as a heated argument quickly turned into an all-around girl conflict after Samuels grabbed Dillard Basset’s hair which resulted in the songwriter hitting her once good friend with a glass. Seconds later, hands were thrown and both women needed to be pulled apart.
The two reality stars have since shared their own recollection of the brawl, with each woman placing blame on the other.
Dillard Basset may deem the new style of extravagant prom send-offs “tacky,” but that hasn’t stopped teenagers from going above and beyond to honor their big day.
One sendoff based in Miami, Florida, consisted of a high schooler strutting by while holding a goat on a leash, seemingly referring to themselves as “the greatest of all time.”
Another featured a female getting ripped out of plastic, referencing rapper Latto’s lyrics in her latest song, “Put It On Da Floor.” In the song, the Atlanta native rapped, “Rip me out the plastic, I been acting brand new.”
Dillard Bassett has not addressed the recent backlash, but it looks like she’s standing behind her statement.
