''All My Babies' Mamas'' is an unaired American
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
special
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
* Special police forces
...
planned for broadcast by
Oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
. A one-hour special was set to premiere in the spring of 2013, although the special was shelved less than a month after its announcement. The special starred rapper
Shawty Lo, in which he showcased his lifestyle as the father of 11 children fathered by 10 different women.
The special garnered considerable coverage due to its allegedly stereotypical portrayal of black families and glamorizing of premarital sex and sex with multiple partners. ''All My Babies' Mamas'' was cancelled on January 15, 2013, without airing a single episode.
Announcement and reception
On December 26, 2012, Oxygen sent out a
press release
A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...
for ''All My Babies' Mamas''. Set to air in spring 2013, the release described the special as "an intimate look at unconventional families with larger than life personalities".
The release also specified that the special would contain "outrageous and authentic over-the-top moments" that a "young, diverse female audience can
tweet and gossip about."
News of the show's central premise received a mostly negative reaction from critics. A petition sprung up online to cancel the show, while some news commentators, and the conservative advocacy group
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by Conservatism in the United States, conservative political pundit L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which ...
in conjunction with author Sabrina Lamb, panned the show for perpetuating or glorifying negative stereotypes.
Oxygen's response
Oxygen network executives distanced themselves from the show,
and they canceled it before it aired.
See also
*
Baby mama
A baby mama (or baby momma, also baby mother) is a slang term for a mother who is not marriage, married to her child's father, although the term often carries other connotations as well. This term is associated with African American slang, African ...
*
List of television series canceled before airing an episode
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 8227566, All My Babies' Mamas
2010s American reality television series
African-American reality television series
American English-language television shows
Oxygen (TV channel) original programming
Race-related controversies in television
Television controversies in the United States
Unaired television specials