On one good note former child star Maia Campbell has entered treatment. Last week a video surfaced that showed her in a perilous situation being exploited. She has a diagnosed mental disorder as well as an ongoing substance abuse problem. Let’s hope this is her rock bottom moment to rise up from and she gets the help she needs.

As someone who has been critical of BET for many years, it surprised many that I would leave my post at HipHopDX last year to take a position at BET. But it was an opportunity I absolutely had to take. I could no longer be critical of this company without accepting the opportunity to change it when given….

Although I was hired to bring about change, I was systematically shut down. I wasn’t hired to make noise, I was hired to be silenced. The truth of the matter is that everything that you thought was wrong with BET is true.

Over the past year I’ve seen a lot to reinforce my position that BET is too far gone in the negative to turn into a positive. We have all always thought the worst, but to actually see it in action is another thing in its entirety. The unprofessionalism, the tom foolery, the favors, the misappropriation of resources, the bad ideas that reinforce negative stereotypes, the emasculation of men, the meetings that break down in full fledged cursing battles, the unpaid overtime, the tears from employees scared for their underpaid and overworked positions and ultimately the unwillingness to change are all harsh realities that I’ve witnessed firsthand…

Well one Andreas Hale, would-be whistler-blower and moral consciousness of a generation not only DEFENDED it but blasted anyone who dared question it. Exhibit A: Message from Facebook that he sent to a black female media executive:

Via @AndreasHale (Executive Editor of BET.com)
“I don’t care how you feel about the BET Awards, but if you say Jamie and Ne-Yo didn’t own the night you deserved to be back slapped. TWICE!”

Slapped, eh? Have I mentioned this bastion of gentility is a black man? Surprise! Ah don’t blame the messenger. These “jokes” write themselves folks! Yet again another “edumacated brotha” in a suit displays the same behavior as the so-called lower quality thug on the corner. I hope enough black women put down their “save a brotha” 200lb. anvil around their necks and start thinking about saving themselves for a change.

Weak, subjugated misogynists suffering from Negro Derangement Syndrome are only victims when something happens to them they don’t like. Like a law enforcement situation. Had his immediate bosses been white we’d probably have heard of a pending discrimination lawsuit but they’re also black so… Perhaps his firing had more to do with his treatment of women (and others) than his problems with the tone of the network. It’s not as if he didn’t know what he was getting into when he took the job! This is also why playing devil’s advocate under disreputable doesn’t work. If you think you’re going to be able to control the circumstances or outcome you could very likely find yourself swept undertow.

Men like this cannot take one word of corrective evaluation and immediately go for the jugular. DBR behavior strikes again! I hope you are taking notes because I’m making a list and scratching off more names – so should you.

Things were looking to be chugging along until we got the news that rocked our world. I started working on a post comparing the emails of SC Gov Mark Sanford to former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick but Mrs. Sanford’s kick butt and taking no prisoners attitude had me rethinking that. I celebrated her triumph from a weak-willed man instead. Not to forget about Ensign and his mistress, her husband and son…but that’s just too twisted and I’m not soiling my mind with trying to figure that one out!

Then I’d heard that Mr. Truthiness himself, Stephen Colbert had made a “tranny” joke which is a big no-no. Also John Stewart had the nerve to insult Malcolm X’s memory by comparing him to those hypocritical Republicans. He theorized the Democrats were like MLK. His comparison makes zero sense though and trying to deconstruct his pea brain on this one isn’t worth the effort to me. See, that’s why these comedians have staff writers. They’re not so brilliant, irreverent or funny without them. 

I’ve been hearing about but not wanting to watch the widow Russert Maureen Orth on MSNBC or hack writer Toure playing in endless loops on tv trashing MJ one way or the other. Of course Orth’s entire career has been solely based on trashing Jackson so this isn’t surprising. CNN is asking whether Jackson transcended race which is a stupid question to begin with. Fixed News immediately chose to give unflattering coverage but that’s not a surprise. Entertainment Tonight decided to show us MJ’s not quite dead body being worked on by EMTs. Perez Hilton said he got slapped by a Pea and whined about it. He also claimed MJ was faking an illness for media attention. Gee here’s someone who’d know all about that. 

This year’s BET Awards airs tomorrow and with it’s planned MJ tribute will likely be its highest rated show ever. Boy timing is everything. You know I have a BET ban in effect but broke it to see Maxwell’s debut video and I’ll be watching (and critiquing) this one. Chris Brown and a whole other cadre of BW beaters/abusers/haters will get to take center stage. Hurl. One thing MJ did not advocate was violence and he always spoke highly of Black women so this is an insult of the highest proportion to mar his legacy by throwing these idiots in the mix. So drumroll….the award goes to: All of Them.

There’s so much foolishness going on this week they all deserve it.