Entertainment

Reel-ality TV Talk

Published

11 years ago

January 13, 2015

By Marquesa LaDawn
NNPA Columnist

The Real Housewives of New Jersey – (Personal Accountability) Even if you do not watch reality tv, you could not have missed this story; I’ll tell you the quick version, Teresa and her husband, Joe Guidice, are two heavy hitters on the RHONJ, and they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Personal accountability is a foreign concept to this couple, especially Teresa; nothing is ever her fault. She lives in excuses land. Well, she got away with it for a long time, but all good things must come to an end. Regardless of what you and I believe, they pleaded guilty on multiple accounts of fraud and got 15 months (Teresa) and 41 months (Joe) in prison. The Lesson: Deal with your issues before the law gets involved and you lose all control!

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills– (The queen can fall) I’m not a fan of emotional people who take everything personally. That being said, I’ve learned to be empathetic to different personality types. Lisa Vanderpump, who seems to be popular, is on two Bravo reality TV shows, is a tough nut to crack. She’s a smart business woman and nice friend, but if you offend her she never forgives you. She projects the aura of being the Queen Bee and I get that, but she forgets to keep her peeps happy. Last season, her peeps turned on her and all hell broke loose and in Queen Bee fashion she never said “I’m sorry” or took any level of responsibility. Sounds familiar? What’s really annoying is how she blames her Brit origin as the reason for her lack of empathy, my response, you are in America, act like it.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta- (Is your house really a home?) The law seems to be busy in the reality TV world and the RHOA is no exception. Apollo Nida, a house husband to Phaedra Parks, was sentenced to eight years in prison, making this his second time behind bars for a long amount of time. He’s a good looking, smooth talking bad boy, who seems to be challenged with doing the right thing. In an ironic situation his wife, soon to be ex- wife, calls herself a Southern belle. You know that Phaedra’s pattern is sharing as little as possible and appearing to be perfect. It doesn’t help that her husband, now in prison, hurt her reputation from the moment he was introduced, then continued to make bad decisions, including flirting with other women. On top of all of this, his favorite line was “Nobody can control me or tell me what to do or how to act.” I think he forgot the law. Of course, Phaedra, is not completely blameless, she’s a smart woman that pretends to miss things, like money being spent by her husband, etc.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta– (Being a mother does not give you a pass…) Oh my goodness, where do I begin, they call her Mama Joyce and boy did she pull the wool over our eyes during the early seasons. Well, all was revealed, and Mama Joyce is the meanest mom on the planet. She’s like a gangsta mom, literally, she threatens to fight even when she clearly starts the argument. She lies like she breathes, she feels that when it comes to her daughter Kandi, she can do anything she wants – and she does. I remember watching Kandi’s beautiful wedding, and when the cameras focused on her frown-faced mother, several of Kandi’s guests had this look of distaste all over their faces. It was really sad! She is talked about so terribly all over social media, I feel so bad for Kandi. But she is a major enabler and although I understand the need to protect your mom no matter what, it’s important that you ask your mother to respect others.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta- – (We all have a limit) Do you remember the big fight during the reunion when Porsha pulled Kenya’s hair? It was a big moment for RHOA and sealed in their first-place popularity. Kenya Moore is something else, a truly mixed up lady. She’s always the victim, though her behavior encourages a lot of what happens in her life. Well, this reunion was no different: she insulted, put objects in people’s face and thought there was no limit. Little did she know, it’s a bad idea to push a recent divorcee with mean words. She learned this hard lesson once Porsha reacted by pushing her down and pulling her hair (thank goodness it’s real).

FINAL WORD: Don’t assume all reality TV is trash; some of it, maybe. But, if you really pay attention, you can learn so much. I think reality TV should make us all look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we in some context share a similar behavior, I know I have. I think reality TV can be great therapy! So stretch out on the couch and get ready for my next column.

Marquesa LaDawn is a professional business woman who escapes the pressures of living in New York City by retreating into the real world of reality TV.

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OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

1 week ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.