Tamar Braxton didn’t hold back while pinpointing racism as the reason why her family’s hit television show wasn’t as big of a show as “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
“Braxton Family Values” aired on We Tv following the lives of the sisters Tamar, Towanda, Traci, Trina, and Toni Braxton, as well as their mother Evelyn.
“Keeping Up With the Kardashians” on E! documented the lives of sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian, Kylie, and Kendal Jenner, and the girl’s mother, Kris Jenner.
The conversation came up on a new episode of “Dish Nation” after Tamar and her co-hosts Jessie Woo, Headkrack, Gary With Da Tea, and Tanner Thomason debated over Nene Leakes’ statement suggesting that her stardom should be on Kim Kardashian’s level.
In part two of Leakes’ interview with Carlos King, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum expressed being held back by the same head honchos who seemingly helped the Skims founder become a huge star.
Though “RHOA” and “KUWTK” premiered on two different networks, both companies are owned by NBC Universal.
Woo was the first person to agree with Leakes’ statement and named her, along with the Braxtons, as individuals who helped pave the way for Black women in reality TV.
“There are a lot of Black women in reality television that opened so many doors and had the same opportunity, but they didn’t get the same push,” she said.
Her point was soon interrupted by Gary With Da Tea, who called Woo’s viewpoint “delusional.” He also suggested that Leakes had an opportunity equal to Kim Kardashian’s but his point was disputed by an animated Braxton, who informed her colleagues about all of the disparities her family faced while working on reality TV in comparison to the Kardashians.
“The pay is not fair,” the singer claimed. “The pay is not fair between Kim Kardashian, the Braxtons, or Atlanta Housewives. That’s not fair, I’m sorry!”
Braxton continued, “We’re doing the same thing, why are we not getting the same price?”
Headkrack then chimed in, noting that many factors come into play when discussing pay rates, such as the viewership and the juicy topics that are covered.
“At We Tv we could not. We had to pay for it like we pay for advertising,” Braxton said. Fellow host Tanner Thomason chimed in, noting that it was impossible to dispute what he described as “the biggest video in the world for a few years,” referring to the leaked adult tape featuring Kim and Ray J from the early 2000s.
“Not when I created ‘Braxton Family Values’ and Kim Kardashian got the 100 million dollar check,” added Braxton.
Although things appeared to become a little heated, the co-hosts ultimately found a way to agree on the fact there’s bias in Hollywood.
The Neighborhood Talk shared a portion of their segment on Instagram, where commenters found themselves torn about whether or not they agreed with Braxton.
“Loved the Braxton family values, but the K’s dominated with their influence.”
“Braxton family Values literally put Wetv on the map….but they signed horrible contracts in the beginning that screwed them over. To compare them to KUWTK isn’t fair because Kris Jenner knew the game inside and out….the Braxtons did NOT.”
“Y’all don’t have the same ratings.”
“Braxton Values was 10 times more entertaining and they were actually a talented family.”
This isn’t the first time the “Love & War” songstress has spoken out about pay inequality within the reality TV world. In 2020, Braxton claimed that her family made 75 percent less than the Kardashian/Jenner clan.
“Are we going to talk about pay…. I 100 percent wrote the theme song… where is the coin… our show is on Netflix…. where is the coin… 10 years on The air… we make 75 percent LESS than the kardashians. How come there are no villains on that show,” she tweeted.
Her comment followed one from a fan who suggested that the series be moved to a Black-owned network.
Just last year, Braxton penned up a lengthy caption on Instagram and revealed that the series was never nominated for any awards despite being the No. 1 all-Black female family show for over a decade.
The seven-season show first premiered back in 2011 and its final season was released in 2020. Fans can always rewatch episodes of “BFV” on Hulu, which is also where “The Kardashians” is available for streaming.
Before switching networks, “KUWTK” originally aired on E! from 2007 until 2021.
