Black Fraternities & Sororities get VH1’s Sorority Sisters Canceled But Can They do This? [blog/article]
Because of the online outrage of Black Fraternities and Sororities, it looks like VH1 may be looking to cancel their reality show Sorority Sisters. Although VH1 has not confirmed the cancellation of the show, VH1 decided to scrap the airing of the last 10 shows which were scheduled to air this past January 16th.
Prior to the release of the show, African American Greek letter organizations banded together to protest the release of the show. Despite the uproar, the show was still released by VH1 as planned. When the show hit the airwaves, sorority and fraternity members voiced their distaste for the depiction of sorority life. Members hit social media (twitter in particular) and threatened to boycott any company who had ads aired during the show. As the pressure mounted, companies began to have their ads pulled.
According to NewsOne.com here is a list of companies that pulled their ads because of the applied pressure:
- T-Mobile
- Hallmark
- Carmex
- Coca-Cola
- Honda
- Crayola
- Dominos
- Country Crock
- JC Penny
- JBL Audio
- Metro PCS
- Selma Movie – (Ava DuVerney, Director of Selma wants to pull movie ads)
- State Farm
It was a valiant effort by black sororities and fraternities. They posed a united front to VH1, made noise, threatened the deep pockets of large companies and as a result a reality show was ripped off of the airwaves. Despite the effort, some would say it wasn’t anything to be proud of.
Many people have the same sentiment as this individual. My question is, which show are we going to get canceled next? Is it possible to show the same unification to get other reality shows ripped from the airwaves? Let’s be real, sorority sisters isn’t the only show that depicted African American women in a horrible light. Is it possible to do the same thing for the Love and Hip Hop series too? Are we done, or do we just show more frustration because VH1 decided to display a few of our prized organizations in a bad light?
Black Fraternities & Sororities get VH1’s Sorority Sisters Canceled But Can They Get All Shows Depicting African American Women in a Negative Light Canceled? Clearly they have the power to do so. Why end with one? Why not wipe them all out since you have momentum?