Many discussions surrounding Black women’s representation have been circulating the internet since the explosive fight between Monique Samuels and Candiace Dillard-Bassett on “The Real Housewives of Potomac” aired.
Every member of the cast — or at least everyone present that night at the cabin — gave their two cents on who they thought was at fault and how poorly it may have made them look under the spotlight of film cameras, including cast member Karen Huger.
The reality star took to her Twitter account on Sunday, Oct. 4, with a message amid the fiasco. “Our #rhop case represents only the black women on this platform,” the reality star wrote. “We cannot and do not speak nor represent ALL black women. That is a crown we as powerful black women wear individually and proudly.” Karen’s post garnered over 4,700 likes and a slew of comments from viewers of the show who, while understanding the meaning behind Karen’s note, didn’t necessarily agree with her.
One user replied to Karen’s tweet by stating, “While this should be true, we know it isn’t.” They continued, “As black women on reality TV, the negative actions of this cast of black women will be used to support negative stereotypes of black women as a whole.” The comment gained 123 likes from others who felt similarly.
A second person commented, “Karen that would be a really nice sentiment if it were true. Being an A.A. Women, we are painted by other races with a broad stoke. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of being judged individually. When they see one of us..they see all of us.”
However, not everyone disagreed with Huger. One person wrote, “Thank you. Because I’m tired of black women on TV correlating fighting with being hood or embarrassing black women.” She added, “White women fight on tv every damn week & we never look at it as a white thing. Fighting is just fighting. It reflects the person, not their race.”
Other fans of the “Housewives” franchise chimed in by stating that they felt that white women from the other cities of the show had demonstrated the same acts, if not worse, and didn’t receive nearly as much backlash as the women of Potomac received.
Monique recently appeared on an episode of “Watch What Happens Live” with host Andy Cohen in which she addressed criticisms that the physical confrontation perpetuated a negative stereotype of Black women.
“I’ve never actually gone that far with anyone. And at the end of the day, to make it a stereotype about Black women I just believe is a bunch of BS,” Monique explained. She added, “Like, we’re not the only ethnicity that has human moments, that has moments where we may get physical. I think they do that all across the board, and we’ve seen it on ‘Housewives’ shows.”
Candiace also spoke on the incident during an interview with People. “I don’t want people to believe her lies,” she expressed regarding Monique’s statement that she was now remorseful about the fight. Candiace added, “Don’t allow her the space to now apologize for what she’s done or now claim that she wishes it didn’t happen.”
