If there are two things I hate more than anything else in this world, they would be: 1) Sharks; and 2) Agreeing with the Parents Television Council about literally anything. But Oxygen had to go ahead start discussing a special called All My Babies’ Mamas featuring Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo and the 11 children he has fathered with 10 different women, so here we are, I suppose.
The Parents Television Council, whose complaints helped generate the congressional backlash against indecency a decade ago, has taken aim at Oxygen’s planned special, All My Babies’ Mamas.
As Oxygen was making news at the Television Critics Association winter press tour with show pickups, PTC was taking aim at the new show, threatening to contact advertisers to register its displeasure over the show. It did not suggest it was indecent, only “grotesquely irresponsible and exploitive” because it features rapper Shawty Lo and the 11 children he has had with 10 different partners. [Multichannel]
Ugh. What’s next, Oxygen? A show about an especially violent species of shark that only eats television bloggers and hates 90s R&B? I’ll be furious. Anyway, in response to the protests by the PTC (as well as other groups), Oxygen has started to backtrack and distance itself from the special.
Jason Klarman, president of Oxygen Media, declined to speak about the show on Monday through a spokeswoman, Julie Rothman.
Rothman said the footage that was briefly circulated was part of a “pitch reel” hacked from the website of the production company. Such clips are used to try and get television networks to buy programs. She said there has been no talent deals – meaning it’s not sure Shawty Lo will be featured. The program is “still very much in early development,” she said. [NewsOne]
To recap: Either you support a television show that rewards the type of attitudes and behavior that lead to someone fathering almost a dozen children by almost a dozen different partners, or you side with a hateful group of fuddy-duddies who want to make television bland and terrible for everyone. Everything about this makes me feel dirty. I’m taking a shower.
