This week has been a battle of the VH1 blogs between two (former?) friends of Basketball Wives, and it’s not pretty.
Royce Reed discusses Monday’s episode, and she has some choice words for her friend Tami Roman…and you’d better believe Tami has somethings to say to Royce as well!
Royce begins, “[F]rom the looks of it Tami had no intentions of ‘listening’ to what Kesha [Nichols] had to say because in Tami Law, she should’ve come to her first. I love you, Tami, but once again I can’t condone your actions. What you did at that dinner was not ‘keeping it real’ it was ‘keeping it rude and disrespectful.'” I found myself ducking when I typed that, terrified Tami was going to throw something at me from all the way in Miami for just repeating Royce’s words!
“There is a way to speak to people, and calling them out their name repeatedly when they are attempting to be respectful to you was not it. It’s sad to say that last night’s episode came across as bullying. That’s NOT the Tami I have gotten to know away from ‘this situation.’ The Tami I know is genuinely funny, kind, professional and respectful. I can call her at any time for real advice and she’s never reluctant to give it. The Tami I saw last night was not the Tami I’ve grown to love as a friend and would be in my wedding. Hopefully more anger management will help because there has to be more to this story.” Hopefully the compliments Royce bestows upon the “off-screen” Tami will keep her from becoming Tami’s next punching bag.
Finally, Royce addresses viewers who believe she doesn’t have Tami’s back. “A few have questioned my friendship with Tami due to me ‘calling her out’ in my blogs. That’s disturbing due to the fact she does the same to me,” Royce states. “I blog for vh1.com, I can’t be biased. I can’t ride or die for ‘wrong.’ Tami and I do not have a co-signing friendship. We are real friends and will call each other out be it right, wrong, bitch, bougie, etc. I will never sugarcoat anything and neither will she. Do we argue? Hell yes. Do we get over it? Of course! She knows if she needs me I’m there…” Hmmm, you may be there for her Royce, but will Tami even care?
Um, it doesn’t sound like it. Not one to typically blog about the show, Tami felt the need to clear the air (and explain her atrocious behavior) this week.
Of Royce, Tami writes, “I thought that we were real friends, but I personally feel that your position on this is stepping over bounds. As a friend, I would expect you to have a neutral position and not try to defend a grown woman who doesn’t deserve it. You can be friends with both of us without voicing your opinion on the matter because truthfully you weren’t there to witness ANY of it firsthand.”
“You are watching the edited version and basing your so-called ‘non bias’ opinion on that OR you are taking Keisha’s version of what happened and coming at me sideways,” Tami explains, continuing, “There have been PLENTY of times when I haven’t agreed with things you have done or said and I addressed those things with you in private out of respect for you. I don’t bring my concerns to anyone but you and I definitely don’t discuss how I may feel about certain situations with the other girls. As far as they know, I have always had your back even when you were wrong.”
She concludes, “Additionally, there have also been plenty of times when people have voiced their opinion of you around me. First thing I say, as your friend is, ‘Royce is my friend and I don’t want to get involved.’ I would have appreciated you taking the same position. I choose not to get involved with things that don’t pertain to me out of loyalty to the people I call friends. I feel saddened that you couldn’t reciprocate. We view ‘real’ friendship differently and thus we may not be real friends…”
Two things…I love that Tami doesn’t even take the time to spell Kesha’s name correctly, and I find it hilarious when these ladies blame editing. However, Tami does blame a lot of her issues with Kesha based on things the viewers didn’t see. Addressing her new nemesis, Tami says, “To be clear, upon meeting you, I asked you respectfully to discuss anything you had to say about me…WITH ME. I wasn’t confrontational nor was I argumentative. Of course that part was edited out of the show; however you, Royce and Kenya [Bell] know what I said.”
Furthermore, Tami continues, “I don’t walk around with boxing gloves on and I don’t fight everyone I meet. I just feel you should’ve been a real woman and brought your concerns “directly” to me. I can assure you that if you had our dealings with each other might not be so rocky.” Good to know about the boxing gloves. Good. To. Know. Tami also claims that Kesha’s constant crying about “not being black enough” is a lie, and had we seen scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor, we’d know that.
She asserts, “Do me a favor, don’t be such a liar and manipulator. I know you have friends in high “Executive Producer” places, but let’s keep this all the way real. When I met you, I approached you in a friendly manner and I did not have any issues with you what so ever. Everyone in this situation knows I was told you were Caucasian, so when I met you that is why I asked you. In that same conversation (which was edited out), upon hearing your answer, I said that I thought you were mixed but wasn’t sure of what it was…my saying that I thought you were mixed with something was in fact ACKNOWLEDGING that you may be of African American decent. I am a product of mixed heritage and identify myself as a black woman also. I NEVER said you weren’t ‘black’ enough… that is a flat out lie!”
And there you have it, or don’t have it…according to editing. What about that “Executive Producer” dig? Ms. Shaunie can’t be too pleased with that one!
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE BLOGS? IS ROYCE IN THE WRONG? THOUGHTS ON TAMI’S EDITING COMMENTS?
