Funky Dineva has never been one to hold his tongue! He has built quite the brand on his insight and opinions of Black Entertainment/Culture on his YouTube platform. So, it goes without saying that he would have an opinion on Fox Soul's Tea-G-I-F, with co-hosts Al Reynolds and Claudia Jordan, as it pertains to Zeus Network's ratchet line up!
Dineva called the network's prime watched show's trash TV for which it's CEO, Lemuel "Lemmie" Plummer defended, saying,
"You're entitled to your opinion. I don't agree with you at all. You know, our customers don't enjoy garbage."
Now, I've given you at least one good review on Bad Boys Los Angeles, which is one of Zeus' newest shows and I have to agree with Dineva on this! Plummer did what he was supposed to (that is) defend his brand. However, in listening to the interview in it's entirety, it seems to me that one of two things are true:
1 - Lemmie is completely delusional about the type of content that draw the network's largest audience.
2 - This man is COMPLETELY aware that his top shows are trash shows but has to keep face for the sake of being the network's CEO.
It's the whole "I can talk about my family but you can't" scenario.
I think that as executive producers of reality tv, one has to acknowledge that people tune into the drama, the outlandish, and - in cases of shows like Joseline's Cabaret or Bad Boys LA - the fighting! Who whooped who's ass the best and who came out victorious in the squabble? That's the questions on viewers minds.
As much as I think that Lemmie did his job as CEO in defending his network, I also peeped the annoying trait of hearing what you want to hear in order to deflect from the reality. Dineva did NOT call the subscribers unintelligent nor did he say that the cast members were trash.
To his point, the premise on which these shows were built upon continue to perpetuate a severely negative view of Blackness, Black culture, and Black enterprise. The core reasons that people are going to tune in is because of the debauchery - in part - because that is what these shows have focused their biggest draw to be. The challenge that I believe Dineva was presenting is how can a Black network grow the stories of our community in a way where we are not emboldened to the narrative that non-Black society already has written for us? How do we do it different and better when we have the ability to write our own narratives?
Most anyone can appreciate a couture Prada gown! However, if it's at the bottom of a $2 sales bin in the back of Walmart, does anyone know it's there? Yes, it's IN the store, but is it the pull of the customers?
Zeus is Walmart, the customers who come KNOW what they're going to get when they go - with no baring on their individual intelligence - but everyone is aware of the ratchetness that IS Walmart.
NO ONE is remotely looking for that couture Prada gown at the bottom of the bin....we came for 10 for 5 Oreo deals and $3 pairs of shorts for tomorrow's impromptu function! AND to see the crazy folks do crazy folk things in and out of the aisles so that we can record it and put it on IG...
View the full interview below:
Sources:
GayeMagazine on IG
TEA-G-I-F on Fox Soul Network
Cover video courtesy of GayeMagazine on IG
Inlay video courtesy of Fox Soul's YouTube Page