Upon its 2013 debut, comic genius Kevin Hart and the gang of BET’s ‘Real Husbands of Hollywood’ were ratings frontrunners for the network. Opening to a whopping 4.14 million in January of that year, the show’s first two season’s ratings maintained a buoyancy that helped make it a leader among all cable shows in its time slot.
Fast forward three years and four seasons later, the funnyman probably won’t be finding much to laugh about when he takes a look at the series’ ratings for its season 5 (which premiered October 11, 2016). Stats reveal this week brought with it the first time over its 5 seasons the show launched to less than 1 million viewers.
Following reports of fresh trouble brewing between Kenya Moore and Sheree Whitfield, ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta‘s ninth season is set to include an intense war of words between Kandi Burruss and fan favourite Porsha Williams.
NeNe Leakes will not be returning as a regular to ‘The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.’
The news came courtesy of the reality star herself during a sit-down interview on The Steve Harvey Show.
Usually a fire-cracker, a surprisingly subdued Leakes explained that she “felt like Kelly Ripa” after not being contacted to appear in season 9 of the Bravo hit.
[As widely reported, Ripa made headlines after being blindsided by the departure of her co-host on ‘Kelly & Michael’]
Her words ring somewhat odd given that she also didn’t feature as a peach-holding housewife in the last season of the show.
In any case, fans of outspoken Leakes needn’t riot just yet. For, she offered an optimistic outlook on her future with the franchise.
“I have a wife and two children who love me, I am the victim of police brutality”
This week’s From The Vault comes courtesy of Michael Jackson and his plaintive ‘They Don’t Care About Us’, a more than apt selection considering the social climate that has been reigning for the past week in the US.
The third single from the ’HIStory’ LP, the track was produced entirely by Jackson and remains to this day one of his most controversial cuts.
Earlier efforts such as ‘Heal The World’ and ‘We Are The World’ saw the entertainer adopt a universalist point of view. ‘About Us,’ however, was markedly more aggressive in its subject matter. It’s central narrative saw Jackson’s complain that he was fed up with the way the collective “us” was being treated.
Quickly, accusations of racism – particularly antisemitism – were raised which the superstar fervently denied.
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A huge hit in Europe, the song was only a moderate hit in the US because of radio’s reluctance to play the track. No doubt due to the truth serum at the heart of the cut.
Still, it peaked inside the Top 10 of every European country it was released in, including Top 5 placings in France, Sweden and the UK.
To keep up with the public awareness theme of the track, MJ chose to work with Spike Lee to bring the song to life and oh did he succeed.
Two videos were shot, both making social commentaries in their own way.
The first presented Mike in a Brazilian favela; but instead of putting the emphasis on the dangerous and ruthless aspects of that environment, the artist chose to paint a colorful, upbeat and optimistic picture of the neighborhood.
The second was shot in a prison and made much more obvious allusions to the way people of color are (mis)treated in America – with footage of the KKK and police brutality among other poignant images.
Sam Cooke famously crooned that change was “gon’ come.” Sadly, despite positive strides in the right direction, there’s a lot more ground to tread.
At a time where the #BlackLivesMatter movement is at the center of every discussion the world over, it’s interesting to observe how relevant the lyrics of this song are 20 years on.
Our wish is that more artists will follow Jackson’s lead and be able to “conscious” content within a banging beat.
The political commentator Sunny Hostin is undoubtedly one of the strongest additions to ABC’s hit series ‘The View’, stepping in following the departure of Rosie Perez.
Unfortunately for ‘Real Housewives of New York’ player Bethenny Frankel said strength almost saw her find herself in hot water when she came face to face when she made the serious mistake of berating Hostin’s son.
Hit the 6.27 mark to find out what happened when the neighbours almost came to blows on a New York beach below…
Lee Daniels‘ foray into television is, should his latest project be a success, turn Diddy’s step-sonQuincy Brown into a household name in his own right.
‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ originals NeNe Leakes & Kim Zolciak are reportedly in talks to revive their scrapped TV series…after the latter is said to be preparing her return to the ‘Wives.’
This coming Sunday brings with it the conclusion of The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 8 reunion.
Tensions have been sky high in the proceeding parts, yet they escalate to new levels when Kenya Moore comes face-to-face with Christopher Morgan – the husband of nemesis Kim Fields.
For much of the Bravo hit’s latest run, Moore has proudly publicized rumors surrounding Morgan’s sexuality – going as far as to claim that many in Hollywood have christened him “Chrissy.”
Needless to say, the comments didn’t go down well the actor or his wife. They may have left the show, but were clearly adamant to go out swinging.
‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ fans tuned into its highly anticipated season 8 reunion in droves Sunday night to see their favorite Southern belles – Kenya, Porsha, Phaedra, Kim, Sheree, and Kandi – showdown and throwdown one last time before the season came to a complete close.
Per usual, the Andy Cohen-hosted affair is one that keeps eyes and ears glued to screens. Now, courtesy of Nielsen, a peek at ratings prove this year’s reunion is no exception. Coming as yet another ratings win for Bravo, tuck in below to see just how many tuned in:
