Iyanla Vanzant denies any accusations that she exploited the domestic violence case between Evelyn Lozada and Chad Johnson for the premiere of her new show Fix My Life.
The new addition to the OWN network team told theGrio that it was actually the abused Basketball Wife who reached out to her, not the other way around.
“She wrote me, just like every other guest,” Vanzant said after public concerns rose about the fact that maybe it was too soon to make the domestic violence case the focal point of the season premier. “That’s an indication of willingness.”
As a matter of fact, the superstar life coach got a hold of Lozada before the domestic violence fiasco even happened, which is why the interview was filmed in two parts: one before the incident and one after.
Lozada gave an incredibly detailed description of everything that followed up to the head butt that landed her in the hospital for stitches and admitted that she now felt the need to change her image.
In the midst of a media showdown, where every talk show host has been trying to get their hands on Lozada for their ratings, its no surprise that the public feels as if Iyanla is doing the same thing; capitalizing on a domestic violence case for ratings.
“The reason it was the first show was, because of the upheaval with her and Chad, it was timely…,” the motivational speaker explained. “And so, you know, at my age, I can’t care what people say, and most of it, I forget.”
According to the new television host, Evelyn’s story also happened to be the perfect portrayal of what her show is all about – “Life happens to everybody” – and that by airing the touchy interview about the domestic violence catastrophe wasn’t about ratings, but instead it was about showing girls who idolize reality stars that their life isn’t as different as they might think.
As Vanzant put it, “Stupidity doesn’t care about your income level.”
The only thing that is more concerning that the fact that television programs seem to be capitalizing on domestic violence is the idea that this reality star may be creating a career out of violence.
In a matter of weeks, she went from being the bully of the Basketball Wives who was eager to punch somebody, anybody, in the face to being the victim of a domestic violence case that suddenly sky-rocketed her back into the public eye.
After all we’ve seen domestic violence boost careers before back in 2009 when Chris Brown beat Rihanna on their way to an awards show.
Rather than being shunned by the public, Chris Brown received even more media attention than he ever had and it has recently boosted his record sales.
The same way that Brown simply got a tap on the wrist for beating Rihanna in the car, it seems NFL player Chad Johnson will be getting the same wrist tap for busting Lozada’s forehead open.
Chad Johnson, formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, will not be receiving any jail time after he pleaded no contest to the battery charges that had been pressed against him.
The former NFL wide receiver appeared in a Florida courtroom Friday morning where he made a deal with prosecutors that would keep him out of the slammer.
“This was a fair resolution to a difficult situation,” Johnson’s attorney, Adam Swickle, told E! news.
Instead of having to endure jail time or the pain of stitches across his forehead like his ex-wife had to endure, the former Dancing with the Stars contestant will only be serving 12-months probation and will have to spend 26 weeks in a battery intervention program.
Seems like a pretty light punishment when you consider the fact that people have shoplifted a pair of jeans and received a heavier sentence than this.
“Chad is ready to move on with his life and he is ready to put all this behind him,” Swickle added in an attempt to persuade the media to move forward as well.
During the probation Evenlyn’s ex-husband won’t be allowed to have any contact with her, which is standard in most domestic violence cases.
In the meantime, Chad will be focused on trying to find a way back into the NFL after he was dropped by the Miami dolphins on August 11 after news of the headbutt got out.
The couple’s reality show has been canceled, and their divorce was finalized on Wednesday.
