Oh, the cray-cray ladies of the original Basketball Wives are finally back for a fourth season with two new additions. How we’ve missed you!
The episode begins with Evelyn Lozada meeting with her wedding planner. Evelyn admits that she had hoped for a destination wedding, but seeing as not everyone has passports, the event will need to remain local. She also reveals that she doesn’t want any bridesmaids. She cryptically references the fact that many of her friends haven’t been extremely loyal, and she only wants people she loves and trusts in attendance. Hmmm…to whom could she be referring?
Jennifer Williams is in NYC and has an unlikely meeting with Suzie Ketcham. Suzie inquires as to whether Jenn has spoken to ex-husband Eric since drink toss 2011. It appears that Suzie has relocated. Is this Basketball Wives: Miami or Basketball Wives: New York? Wait, I think it is. My bad. #duh. Jenn learns that Suzie rarely talks to former biffle, Royce Reed. Suzie is equally shocked to find out that Evelyn and Jenn are on the outs.
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Last night’s Mob Wives had the mobsters coming clean to their lady loves about their prior bad behavior. It was quite the confessional!
The episode begins with Drita D’avanzo heading back into the boxing ring. Her trainer is upset to hear that she’s been fighting again. Drita believes she could curb her street fighting if she was able to rid douchebags in her life. Her memory of beating up d-bags extends all the way back to kindergarten. Her temper is in no way to blame for her penchant for hitting other people. Okay.
Karen Gravano and Ramona Rizzo meet for dinner. As much as they are willing to invite Carla Facciolo into their inner circle, they blame Drita for brainwashing her. The two respect the fact that Carla is loyal to a fault, even if it’s to Drita. Karen and Ramona plan to change that. Ramona chalks it up to the double-D factor…no Drita, no drama. After all my time watching this fiasco, I can honestly say that Drita may not be the only cast member who stirs the pot.
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To kick things off right, the ladies are out and about letting everyone know this is definitely a season you don’t want to miss; oh, and all the drama – so not their fault! Discussing this season, Evelyn is once again explaining how things work from her perspective – and interestingly she blames, of all things, Twitter for a lot of the fighting!
Evelyn believes if people just kept their every passing comment to themselves, less people would get hurt. I’m just gonna let this one sink in, being that Evelyn has been called out for her Twitterants on more than one occasion.
“Twitter plays a huge part on ‘Basketball Wives’ because sometimes we may get to Twitter to vent, which is probably not the greatest thing to do,” Evelyn tells Sister2Sister. “I think we all are guilty of probably doing that at some point.”
“Usually it starts up arguments when we’re filming,” she explains.”You’re forced to address certain issues and things that are going on. That’s why, at the reunions, it’s always heated and there’s always arguments because that’s basically when you lay everything on the table.”
Jen agrees that Twitter is certainly the catalyst for a lot of issues. “Twitter seems to cause a lot problems on ‘Basketball Wives,’ so it would be interesting if we didn’t have Twitter to see how that would go,” Jennifer acknowledges.
“There would be a lot less problems,” she admits, especially Tweets of the passive-aggressive nature which then get the followers and fans involved. “It can get little messy, and by the time the reunion rolls around, a lot of stuff has been said on Twitter.”
Evelyn also reveals that the reunions are the most stressful part of the season! “On the reunion there was obvious tension between me and Jennifer,” Evelyn says – particularly because she believed everything was fine with Jen. “I felt tension from her at the reunion and after we wrapped the reunion, she left and didn’t say goodbye to anyone.” And that was pretty much the end of their friendship! Yikes. Yet another example of how reality television and friendship simply don’t mix!
Moving on, Tami Roman doesn’t blame Twitter or anyone else for her issues and when it comes to taking sides, she is squarely on Team Tami. “I kind of mind my business unless it pertains to me,” Tami told VH1’s Big Morning Buzz.
Especially when it comes to Jen and Evelyn! “So I like them both and I’m still friends with them both even though they’re in the middle of conflict,” Tami added.
Tami also let new girls Kenya Bell and Kesha Nichols know they better tow the line! “This is how I operate, let’s try to stay in this format and you’ll be fine,” she told them upon meeting them, mentioning that she still has to get to know them a little better.
And finally, below is a sneak peak of tonight’s premiere episode! All the ladies are in NYC to kick of the season, but they certainly didn’t leave any of the drama behind in Miami!
In the preview, Evelyn is planning her wedding and only her most loyal friends are invited! So I guess that means the cast is off the guest list? Jen also talks about dealing with divorce and the break up with Evelyn – she seems so sad. The video is below! Just a warning: Evelyn’s eyeshadow is horrific!
Basketball Wives premieres tonight on VH1 at 8/7c!
DO YOU THINK TWITTER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR JENN AND EVELYN’S FALL OUT? WILL THEY EVER BE FRIENDS AGAIN? WILL YOU BE WATCHING TONIGHT?
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As you know on Mob Wives, one day your archenemies, one day your having shots with the woman who was just screaming in your face. One afternoon you’re lunching with Big Ang (don’t I wish!), the next your ex-husband becomes a government snitch against your father. Such is life on Staten Island.
No one knows that better than the matriarch of the series, Renee Graziano. She’s been up and down as of late, with her horrible plastic surgery ordeal and her attempted reconciliation with ex-husband Hector “Junior” Pagan who turned tails on Renee’s dad as an FBI informant. Renee is quick to say that her show isn’t just about the mafia drama, but about showing others how to cope with extreme hardship.
Renee insists that she wouldn’t be on the show if she didn’t think it could help others. She tells Naughty but Nice Rob via the Huffingtonpost.com, “I remember the day I gave up drinking because that was the day that my father was arrested. Anthony Graziano is his name and he just came home [from prison]. My ex-husband got him arrested [again] — trust me.” Yikes. Renee gave up the Chardonnay? I guess we’ll see that next season. More power to her!
Speaking about Junior’s extremely disloyal conduct, Renee admits, “The truth of the matter is, it is the ultimate betrayal. I don’t think it could have gone any worse than that. It is very hard and heart-wrenching to watch my son go through this. For me, I am strong.”
Continuing, the tormented reality star adds, “What makes [me] so strong? I think it’s the truth and I know that sounds silly to people, but I think God really put me on this earth to learn and teach so I think [H]e is letting me go through everything I have asked for. I believe I am here to help someone else and I think that’s the greatest gift.” Amen to that! I do hate Renee has been sidelined by so many awful situations. I do think that if anyone can handle the drama and strife, though, it’s her.
Thankfully, Renee has one thing going for her…her friends are reconciling their differences in order to appease her because of how much they value her friendship. The blog HollywoodLife.com spoke with Ramona Rizzo about her recent confrontation with cast mate Carla Facciolo. The women have been going at each other all season to anyone who will listen…except each other. However, on Sunday’s episode, Carla and Ramona had a terse meeting that ended in what appeared to be “frienemy” status.
In a an interview with the site, Ramona elaborates, “Whatever you need to do to smooth the way so that you know at the end of the day you made it better where everyone can be in a room together, that’s all that matters. I knew we were possibly going to have to be together because of Renee.”
Citing the spa party, Ramona tells the blog that she never wants others to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in her presence. Of that horrendous excuse for a party, she recalls, “I said ‘I don’t want anybody to ever have to say they don’t want to come to Renee’s house because I’m there.’”
Apparently, Ramona figured out that fighting with someone you’ve really never spent time with is just a drain of your own personal energy. She admits, “It just came to the point like enough. Let’s just do this. Let’s just be friends. Just nip it already or just go for it. I told her what I knew that she had said. We’ve moved on from it.”
According to Ramona, the pair is far from being biffles, but they are able to spend time together sans shouting, showdowns and table flips. While they will likely never be seen getting manicures amid giddy girl talk, Ramona reports, “We’re cordial to each other. When we see each other, we act like ladies. She has no bearing on my life and I have no animosity towards her.”
The bottom line for Ramona is that she’s happy the pair have declared a truce. Of their face-off meeting, Ramona remembers, “It went well. Honestly I didn’t expect it to go any other way. I didn’t expect Carla to get up and be crazy. If you talk, you can work out your problems. Carla is not a person that is going to raise her hand and neither am I unless someone is going to raise them to me. It went the way I expected it.” That’s good too, because I have seen Ramona once raise her hand to someone…on a balcony…at my main main Derek Tabacco. All’s well that ends well, of course, and it’s nice to hear these ladies are getting along.
On this Sunday’s episode, Drita D’avanzo has to face her toughest critic, daughter Aleeya. She’s curious about the things most young girls her age are wondering…like does mom get into fist fights and what is a “rat” if it’s not an animal who lives in the sewers and is often subjected to science experiments? Thankfully, Drita is saved by the bell from this inquisition when the phone rings…or is she? Watch a preview clip below!
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RENEE’S INTERVIEW? THOUGHTS ON RAMONA AND CARLA’S PEACE TREATY? DO YOU THINK IT WILL LAST? IF SO, HOW LONG?
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After that pesky little football game sidelined the Mob Wives last week, the ladies were back last night with extra drama to make up for their absence.
The episode opens with Renee Graziano speaking with ex-husband Junior Pagan about how she feels an impending sense of doom. However, she believes it is because of her loony friends having such heated arguments with each other. She wasn’t too keen on hearing that Ramona has been talking smack about her all over town. Renee is also stressed about Junior’s upcoming indictment. The lady has a lot on her plate.
Drita D’avanzo discusses the state of her relationship with Lee with her daughter. She brings up the “D” word, and while I am glad she’s talking about this to her daughter, it is irking me that she’s doing it on camera. Her daughter tells her that Lee has promised to take all of the family on a vacation and she’d like to go to Hawaii. Drita gets choked up by this revelation.
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Sometimes it is easy to forget that the ladies of Mob Wives are called “mob wives” for a reason. However, due to the recent drama with Renee Graziano’s father and ex-husband, the women seem less like reality stars and more like the products of their crime family pasts.
Renee’s mobster father Anthony “TG” Graziano was just indicted on racketeering charges… charges that were a result of Renee’s ex-husband Hector “Junior” Pagan going all Benedict Arnold on Renee’s family by wearing a wire to get information from his former father-in-law.
A recent article from the online edition of the New York Post spoke about Renee’s breakdown outside the New York courthouse this week after her father was charged. She talked openly about her ex-husband (who she had hoped to reconcile with on the current season which filmed months ago). Her ex, as you know, ratted out her father by becoming an FBI informant.
As Renee’s father was taken away by U.S. Marshals, the Mob Wives star couldn’t handle the pressure of the given situation. And who can blame her? It was during this real life “Usual Suspects” moment that Renee realized perhaps Junior’s promises of a stronger relationship were nothing more than an attempt to get closer to her father to garner information for a DEA investigation, which would send her father back to the clink. Shame on you, Junior. Not that I’m pro-mobster, but I am totally against betraying your loved ones in exchange for immunity for your own misgivings.
A tearful Renee told the magazine, “They’re in ‘The Life’ with you one day, and then cooperating the next.”
Renee hasn’t seen Junior, who is reportedly in the witness protection program, but she is devastated by the potential effect on AJ, her 17-year-old son, with Junior. She reveals, “My son is taking this very hard. He loves his father.” Continuing, the mama bear is adamant that she “won’t forgive [Junior] for what he did to my son.”
Renee admits that had she known of Junior’s intentions she would have tipped off her father, regardless of the pair’s tumultuous relationship. She cites Junior’s actions as an “immense betrayal.”
“I would have told my father — 100 percent,” Renee promises the magazine.
The article points out that had Renee tipped off her father, she likely would have sealed her ex-husband’s fate. According to the New York Post, the mob is quick to extinguish government informants. As someone who has always been indifferent about Renee on the show, I do hate to hear that she could have potentially been put in such an explosive situation.
With the cameras still rolling for the VH1 hit, Renee chooses to focus on the positive things the series has done for women in her position. While she’s the star of a show which highlights the feminine side of the Mafia world, Renee wants to point out, “This is not about the men. It’s about what women go through.”
And speaking of turncoats, everyone’s favorite overly-enhanced second season addition, Angela “Big Ang” Raiola, gave an interview to Good Day L.A. explaining the seemingly counterproductive concept of having a reality show about people whose family members are literally trying to remain anonymous… you know, because they’re hardened criminals and all.
Huffingtonpost reports on that appearance, saying that in this reality world of the mob, according to our love Big Ang “everybody rats” and the series is in no way on La Cosa Nostra’s radar.
Big Ang can relate to the world of informants, as she herself was arrested in a cocaine bust in 2001 because of one. She admits, “A girlfriend of mine, an informer, had a wire … She went into witness protection and then we all got arrested. I did house arrest … We had parties every day for six months.” Sounds kind of fun, right?
It certainly makes people wonder why these women would do a show when most of their family and friends are involved in a very secret–and very dangerous–crime ridden world. However, Big Ang believes that the secrecy involved with being part of a mob family rarely exists nowadays.
She explains, “How could it be secretive? Everybody’s rats … There’s no more secrets, they’re all ratting each other out. It’s over.”
Of course Big Ang is in the perfect place to call out the turn-coating ways of infamous Mafia crime families. Of her own family, linked to the mob, she admits, “Thank god they’re dead.” It’s definitely hard to hate on a show that exposes your family secrets when your family isn’t around to watch it!
[Photos Credit: WENN]
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF JUNIOR TURNING ON RENEE’S DAD? IS HE JUSTIFIED TO EXPOSE A CRIMINAL OR DID HE OVER STEP THE BONDS OF FAMILY LOYALTY? THOUGHTS ON BIG ANG’S INTERVIEW?
On last night’s Love & Hip Hop, it was the Producer’s Tell All! I have to say I didn’t hate the format as much as I thought I would. With the ladies not yelling over one another, it was easier to get more questions answered… and they seemed to ask the questions viewers would want to know, aka no John Salley softballs!
The show’s executive producer Mona Scott-Young reveals that because one several cast members now refuse to be in the same room together, coughs Chrissy, the show has to forgo the traditional reunion format. Instead, viewers are treated to a behind the scenes look at the inner-workings of the show as well as one-on-one interviews with the cast.
First up, Jim Jones! The man, the myth, the dude at the center of a lot of the ladies’ drama. This season’s new cast mate, Yandy Smith was the rapper’s manager for the past eight years, and she was supposedly brought on at the request of his girlfriend Chrissy Lampkin. However, quickly, the ladies began feuding, with Jim caught in the middle. It resulted in a total breakdown of Jim and Yandy’s professional relationship which we watched play out over the course of the season.
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Basketball Wives hasn’t premiered yet, but the drama preceding the show has been happening for months! In the latest, the much maligned Royce Reed talks the upcoming season, the arguments, and her opinion of creator and producer Shaunie O’Neal! Oh, and in case your wondering if Royce has any interest in joining the popular crowd – rest assured; she doesn’t!
Royce warns that this season viewers will see a decidedly less dramatic side of her as she stays out of the pettiness and the chaos. “Sorry to bust your bubble, but I’m not really in a lot of the drama,” she tells Sister2Sister. We will see her focusing on her outside projects, though. “I’m really out there just trying to do my own thing career-wise,” she explains. “I have a career outside of on this show.”
As for conflicts, Royce says there are none with the new editions to the cast, Kesha Nichols and Kenya Bell, who she says are definitely getting along a lot better than season one non-factor Meeka Claxton!
“[Meeka] wanted to be cool with certain people that did not want to be cool with her and she pretty much got stabbed in the back like 10, 20, 30 times,” Royce reveals. “I tried to tell her. Tami [Roman] tried to tell her, and it was like in one ear and like the other. You see where she is now … I don’t have an issue with Meeka at all. We’ve actually talked. She’s apologized.” Royce adds that Meeka has since admitted she formed opinions on the ladies before actually getting to know them.
One person Royce hasn’t mended fences with is Shaunie, but don’t expect confrontations between the two. “I don’t film with her. We don’t like each other. I don’t know what her issue is with me. … She was making up lies about me that wasn’t true,” Royce insists.
Denying rumors that Shaunie acts as the puppeteer amongst the ladies, Royce is adamant that isn’t true. “She doesn’t pimp me, and I’m pretty sure y’all see she doesn’t pimp me. My thing is, she does not own the show.”
“She doesn’t make me do anything, say anything … Yeah, it brings in a check, but I refuse to sell my soul for a check,” Royce asserts. Despite some of her mistakes from last season, Royce stands by them and insists she makes her own decisions on the show. “Everybody makes mistakes, it’s just ours is in front of the world.”
Speaking of mistakes and drama, another person Royce will be ignoring this season is resident mean girl, Evelyn Lozada! Darn – who will Evelyn be flinging drinks at then? Oh, nevermind… she’ll find someone!
Speaking of Evelyn, she is denying recent rumors that her abs were drawn on for her recent Maxim photoshoot. “People thought my abs were sprayed on but they weren’t. They are all real!,” she insists to TooFab, while promoting her upcoming book, The Wives Association: The Inner Circle. Does Evelyn really expect people to believe she wrote a book?
Evelyn adds that the shoot was an “amazing experience” even though it was freezing. Is that why she looks upset in every shot? Oh, and she also wants you to buy her new make-up, E by Evelyn Lozada, which comes out this month. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of it on the upcoming season. A photo of Evelyn’s Maxim shoot is below!
ARE YOU SURPRISED ROYCE MANAGED TO RETURN THIS SEASON GIVEN HER FIGHT WITH SHAUNIE? DO YOU BELIEVE SHE WILL STAY OUT OF THE DRAMA? ARE EVELYN’S ABS REAL – YES OR NO?!
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