Kris Campbell
Staff Writer
After a great deal of controversy in just a month after the show’s debut, the new VH1 reality show “Sorority Sisters” season came to a sudden and surprising end on Jan. 16th.
Mona Scott, the creator of your favorite Vh1 reality shows, including the multiple “Love and Hip-Hop” series, came up with the show idea of the “real life” of sorority sisters and brought it to life in late 2014. Little did she know that tons of Greek sorority members from all over the country would oppose the show idea because they believe that it would devalue what the organizations really stood for and expose untrue behavior and character of its members.
Tomysyne Ford, a JSU alumnus from Birmingham, Ala. and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. stated, “My sorority was created in a time of turmoil and trauma at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. We were established to uplift black women on the basis of sisterhood, scholarship, and service.”
She added, “The producer of this show intended to exploit black sororities in order to increase her income. So, I respectfully declined to support the show.”
Aja Woods, a senior accounting major from Silver Creek, Miss. and president of the Zeta Phi Beta Chapter at JSU said, “The show doesn’t accurately represent the divine nine sororities and their members. Instead of showing members of the organizations who are actively participating in a chapter and upholding their founding principles, the show has chosen a negative route which shines a bad light.”
Before the show’s start, thousands of sorority members and supporters started an online petition that collected over 40, 000 signatures in support of the shows cancellation. Business supporters of VH1 also began to pull their ads from the channel in hopes that it would pressure the network to forfeit the show.
Ronnika Joyer, former Miss Jackson State University and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. said, “My involvement with the boycott of “Sorority Sisters” was to help pull advertisement from Vh1. I work in public relations so I knew talking about it on social media would only help the situation.”
She later added, “My objection with the show was that the ladies involved pushed themselves to represent the entire organization and every member and it wasn’t “reality.”
The pulling of advertisements and the online petition did nothing but put pressure under the producers and girls of the show but it was not until two members of the show got in deep water with their sorority that Vh1 made plans to satisfy its viewers.
Cast members April McRae and Rwanda Hammond, both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the oldest historically black sorority, were suspended from the organization on Dec. 26 for their behavior on the show, not being allowed to return until July 2016 if in good standing with the sorority, according to Ajc.com.
This prompted the decision to bring the unfolding story of the sorority sisters to a close.
The last three episodes of the season aired consecutively on Jan. 16.
It has not been officially stated if the show has been “cancelled” but critics believe that the rushed finale episodes are more than enough evidence for viewers that “Sorority Sisters” is on the cut-list.
With Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., 3 out of 4 of the D9 sororities all being founded in the month of January, what better gift for their founding days than the forfeiture of a show that many believe failed to depict the true essence of their founding principles.
Be First to Comment