Oxygen Pulls ‘All My Babies’ Mamas’
Planned Special Had Triggered Complaints
By Jeanine Poggi
Oxygen confirmed on Tuesday that it is pulling its reality special “All My Babies’ Mamas,” which was expected to star Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo, his 11 children and their 10 mothers.
The network announced a one-hour special with that tentative title last month, saying it would show an “extreme ‘blended family’ that is anything but ordinary” sometime this spring. “Oxygen will give fans an intimate look at unconventional families with larger than life personalities and real emotional stakes,” said Cori Abraham, senior VP of development at Oxygen Media, in a statement Dec. 26.
But advocacy groups gunned to kill the show after initial development footage was leaked. Civil rights group ColorofChange.org condemned the show as portraying a negative stereotype image of African-Americans, and a petition from the Parents Television Council to cancel the special attracted more than 37,000 names.
Today an Oxygen spokeswoman said the special was dead. “As part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special,” she said. “We will continue to develop compelling content that resonates with our young female viewers and drives the cultural conversation.”
Shawty Lo and his family were considered for the show, but other families were being considered as well, according to a person familiar with the project.
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