It’s More About Commerce Than Complexion
In, nah, that ain’t it news, this morning I stumbled along a piece entitled “Alicia Keys vs. Fantasia Barrino.”
Writer and editor-at-large, Nsenga K. Burton, outlines her theory as to why Fantasia Barrino has been purportedly assailed in the mainstream press for her alleged role as homewrecker and not Alicia Keys, who is also believed to have involved herself with a married man.
Short admission: I maintained a blog entitled “The Recession Diaries” for much of last year and have written several pieces for The Root.
That said, with all due respect to the writer, this piece is nothing but failed projection.
Burton writes:
“I’m wondering why the mainstream media are so willing to let Keys off the hook for what many would call socially unacceptable behavior at best, and immoral behavior at worst, while taking Barrino to task for similar behavior.
Is it that Keys is too pretty to be pummeled?
Yeah, I said it. Keys, who is beautiful, fits the dominant standards of beauty in the black, white and brown worlds. Is that why she’s being handled with kid gloves by the mainstream press? We wouldn’t want to beat up on someone who is just so attractive.”
While I do agree with her core point – that regional differences, Eurocentric standards of beauty, and other things that can lead to bias in how people can be covered – I think in this instance it doesn’t apply.
Sometimes we as writers are guilty of overthinking a situation and trying to create a scenario that has absolutely nothing to do with what really is going on. To make our point, to stress something we feel is important, or in some cases, to simply have something to say for the sake of.
As someone who has written entertainment pieces for “urban” and “mainstream” outlets (I assume we can make out the coded terms now), I can confidently say that the only color that matters in this Fantasia story to these outlets (black and white) is green.
An American Idol champion took one too many Advils and Ambiens over stress from the controversy surrounding her snatching up somebody else’s husband and was rushed to the hospital in an apparent suicide attempt.
Of course that was widely reported and naturally the back story would be fleshed out days after the incident.
She was on American Idol. If she were Angie Stone would the likes of Nancy Grace give a damn? Probably not.
Burton makes the claim that “relentless documentation of the illicit affair” followed word of Fantasia’s suicide attempt.
She doesn’t link to this “relentless documentation” nor does she put it in its proper context. The keyword in her sentence is “followed.” That suggests that up until she passed out in her closet over her potential legal troubles and backlash no one cared about Fantasia channeling Mokenstef and “Jezebel” outside of black blogs (to boost their own hits).
More research would have noted that the New York Daily News reported on Mashonda’s allegations that Alicia Keys was the other woman in her marriage with Swizz Beatz. No other white-centered media entity ran with the story because they don’t know who Mashonda and Swizz Beatz are.
It makes sense to sell the happy marriage fairytale about Alicia and her producer because people like those sorts of stories. Ask a relationship blogger. Now, people also like scandal and might have cared for an Alicia man-stealer narrative if she decided to slit her wrist on top of a piano because she couldn’t take all of those “hussy, woman up and talk to me” tweets Mashonda kept sending her. Or fucked Beyoncé’s husband or Queen Latifah’s trainer.
Alicia Keys wasn’t “pummeled” not because she was pretty but because she messed around with a rap producer with a name that wouldn’t sell tabloids at grocery stores or garner clicks from the average Midwesterner in a cubicle passing the time at work on a gossip site.
To make it about complexion is reaching and will only lead to another trite back-and-forth over the brown paper bag – full of the same puerile remarks. If such a debate doesn’t take place at Madame ReRe’s Salon with a dance number between the wannabes and jiggaboos, it’s meaningless.
Save the speech for an event that calls for it.
As for some of other Burton’s comments:
“I’m wondering: If they know that this type of scrutiny is what drove her to try to commit suicide, why would they continue badgering her in the press? But that’s another story.”
It’s a solid point and fair question to be asked, however, I’d also inquire as to why Fantasia’s team is not only repeatedly addressing the media but divulging intricate details about the status of her relationship with Antwuan. That only provides more fodder for the very “badgering” she speaks of.
Alicia Keys has a much better publicist. It’s a point Burton acknowledges but still says doesn’t explain why Alicia isn’t being called a homewrecker on TMZ and People.
Oh, but it does.
I know for a fact that her publicist is out there trying to shut down talk about Alicia and Mashonda. Team Keys isn’t out there saying, “Well, Swizz lied to her but we’re gonna go with God and oh yeah, but her single on iTunes.”
Nor is Alicia filming her a meeting with the married guy at the center of her drama in front of a camera crew for a reality show.
Maybe the piece should have centered on why we have to nearly kill ourselves to get white people to talk about our hoe shit. That would have made more sense to me than Burton’s attempts to tie in legitimate arguments about biases in media coverage in places where they don’t belong.
We really ought to be more careful of when we throw out arguments about race and color. The more we bring them up in issues where they don’t fit the less chance we have of convincing people to care about the situations in which they do.
TC
August 17, 2010 at 4:37 pm
like my daddy said the only color that matters is GREEN the color of money and that’s real…
i also agree that it really does have more to do with Tasia being more in the mainstream with being an American Idol, having her “life story” on lifetime, being on Oprah and also has you stated not having the greatest PR team in tact.
her manager is great at managing her, but as a PR person, maybe not so much…
sickwitit
August 17, 2010 at 4:42 pm
once again youre 100% on point, the light vs. dark shit is played
but you forgot to mention the alleged sextape, the messages left on the voicemail, the covered up tattoo, and the lawsuit filed by the wife, fantasia slow ass wanted to get caught…
Babygirlja
August 17, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I agree, If Fantasia wasn’t on “The Idol” mainstream media wouldn’t give a damn about her suicide attempts. Color is not a factor in this situation at all and I see that she hired Chris Brown’s publicist.
thecoldest
August 17, 2010 at 6:19 pm
LMAO@they don’t know who Mashonda and Swizz Beatz are!!
LMAO@slitherwristonpiano!
You are damn fool!
Dr. Kiti
August 17, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I almost disagreed with you here because I normally go with that argument…unless it is unfounded. You’ve made a good point about Fantasia being more mainstream and about most folks not really knowing who Swizz Beats is. Apparently nobody was reading any of the other, more ‘urban-centric’ blogs that DID in fact call Alicia Keys out for being a hussy and having the nasty woman’s disease.
That said, thanks for keeping me on point when I was so ready to be lead astray
Antonio
August 18, 2010 at 12:48 am
If my memory serves me correctly, Alicia Keys has been lambasted by the same black media outlets that are currently ridiculing Fantasia. Do white people even know that Fantasia didn’t fall off the earth post-2004? I’d bet that you ask any mainstream outlet about Fantasia and they’d be likely to reference a 1930s Disney movie. #JustAHunch
But to your point, Well said and 100% true: irresponsibly and unjustifiably throwing out the race/beauty/complexion card is dangerous and reckless. We need not trivialize real debates that we should be having in an attempt to talk about Fantasia. And I’m ok with not talking about Fantasia.
Mia
August 18, 2010 at 7:39 am
I had this exact same debate with my sister the other day and I pretty much echoed everything you wrote, glad we agree!
Mia
August 18, 2010 at 7:40 am
BTW, Have you guys heard Fantasia’s new song LUCKY? She is such a greasy skank!
Nattyrankins
August 18, 2010 at 9:16 am
Michael, I’ve been overthinking this smart post on FannieMae & the media. I assumed she got raw deal too with no evidence other than a feeling.
Maybe lightskinded guilt?
remthemulatto
August 18, 2010 at 10:32 am
I concur.. and in doing so would like to call you out on your post about The Blind Side, which to me performs some similar mistakes..
FattDoll
August 18, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Okay..so ya..umm why then did Nancy Grace not do a piece on Lianne Rhymes, Torri Spelling or Angelina Jolie?…the American Idol brand too?..stuppess..negroes PLS!
Michael
August 18, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Rem, elaborate please.
Fattdoll, Nancy Grace has talked about other scandals before and in any event, none of those women were potentially sued for their legal affairs and neither of them allegedly tried to kill themselves. I think people kept forgetting Fantasia is believed to have gone to extreme and faces a suit that’s only commonplace in less than 10 states in the country. Context is key in this story. Nancy is a lawyer and her show is themed around celebrity justice and the justice system overall. Now had Jennifer Aniston sued Angelina Jolie I would think everyone on Earth would talk about it.
Mia, thanks that’s another good example of why Tasie keeps getting talked about. Plus, plenty of black blogs took aim at Alicia for “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart.” And her behavior in general.
Now if you two will excuse me, I’m about to go laugh at Nattyrankins.
Fattdoll
August 19, 2010 at 5:56 pm
I like how you always answer back whenever people don’t drink your kool aid.
NOW if YOU will excuse me..i have to go knit sweaters for Nancy Grace’s twins!
Goodnight friend!
Cicero
August 30, 2010 at 2:21 am
This is my maiden visit to your site. Kudos for covering “urban” culture with a little bit of intellectual acumen. It’s much appreciated
Hmmm….a valid point that seemingly has been omitted in most coverage of this story is the fact that Fantasia had a rather equivocal reputation leading up to this story, that had been vaguely addressed in the media. Remember when Oprah hand-picked her to be Sealy in the Broadway adaptation of the Color Purple, which was initially met with high expectations? Then several months later it became known that she repeatedly missed performances. There was also some speculation that drugs were involved. This is something that I head reported in the mainstream media, as I rarely frequent urban entertainment outlets.
Moreover, despite all the attempts at PC maneuvering regarding her upbringing, her “wretched black female” story further (and probably unfairly) affected public perception of her, which honestly is tangential to the color issue.
Alicia Keys, prior to her indiscretion, had a vitually sqeaky-clean reputation and gave no cause for anyone to doubt her worth as a professional or a just a well-adjusted, stable human being. Her background is also not so intricately tied to her public image. Fantasia has had her demons in tow in a manner that has always been patently obvious since she won AI. So, these recent events seem to be yet another chapter in the melodramtic saga that is unfortunate life of Fantasia Burrino. Just a thought.