Fun fact: You can leave the stereotypical character out of black shows
… and we will love the show anyway
I watched Camille and Quinn on Amazon’s “Harlem,” as they leaned over and twerked in yoga class, happily chanting “nigga, nigga, nigga” and boasting to the white yoga instructor that “we’re niggas.” I laughed. Then I wondered why I laughed. It didn’t take me long to realize it was more out of embarrassment than thinking the scene was funny. I still love Meagan Good as an actress and like that she teamed up to work with Grace Byers.
I sat through TV’s most cringeworthy wedding on “Games People Play” last week, one of a laundry list of questionable things that Quanisha has done on Season 2. I am still perplexed. Kareem, Quanisha’s fiance, was not this bad on Season 1. Who decided he needed to be this ghetto — and bring a friend? Lauren London left the show for a season, and this is what the writers came up with? I’m very curious what Brandi Denise Boyd is like in another project though.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, I enjoy promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All four of my Substack publications include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a VERIFIED Black-owned business. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect your decision.
I turned my head away from cringe-watching Lisa on “House of Payne,” as she patted her weave and talked in the same accent that Iggy Azalea uses. I didn’t think anything could be more stereotypical than Madea, but somehow Tyler Perry made it happen. I stopped watching the show altogether months ago. I couldn’t hang. Part of me wants to see what Ahmarie Holmes is like with a better character.
I don’t quite understand why the actresses didn’t pause over these parts in their scripts and go “nah.” The whole time I see these characters, I just keep thinking, “Did Tyler Perry and the Wayans Brothers team up to create them?”