Shaunie O’Neal, producer of VH1’s reality show “Basketball Wives,” consulted with her pastor about leaving the program during its season finale on Monday.
O’Neal, ex-wife of former NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal, spoke with Bishop Kenneth Ulmer of Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, Calif., about leaving “Basketball Wives” after weeks of verbal and physical fighting led to protests and petitions against the show. After O’Neal told the pastor about the volatile relationships that have turned violent on the reality television series, Ulmer had some questions for the executive producer.
“How long will they go on like this? How many times do the women, cuss, fuss and get mad,” Ulmer asked. “Do you resolve this frustration when you see these women clawing at each other? Is it worth you walking away from?”
O’Neal admitted that she was thinking about leaving the show and could no longer agree with the direction it was going in.
“I have really strongly considered walking away. Do I walk away and love the ladies from the distance,” O’Neal questioned. “I feel like there’s nothing else that I can do. At this point i can no longer defend it, I can no longer stand by it.”
Earlier this month, the executive producer responded to the large amount of criticism to “Basketball Wives.”
“We take responsibility. After talking and seeing ourselves this season, this season was bananas,” O’Neal recently said in S2S magazine. “It definitely was a lot more bad than good. Even when we did have the good, the bad seemed to outweigh it.”
Ratings for the show reportedly dropped from two million viewers a few weeks ago to 1.75 million last week, according to Eurweb.com. The 12.5 percent drop caused O’Neal and show producer Shed Media to take notice.
O’Neal said she has tried to showcase a balance on “Baksetball Wives” in the past, but the dip in ratings may have finally caused executives to take notice.
“I think my voice is being resonated and Shed Media and VH1 have heard me,” O’Neal said at the show’s reunion taping. “We’re all on this page of getting some balance and getting some good and positive content.”
