Tami Roman Tells All

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Because I know this is what the context of your show is about, and it provides a piece of closure for me because I will never ever answer any more questions about basketball wise. That part of my life is closed. So I'm giving it all to you, and then I'm getting on down the highway.

00:00:20
Speaker 2: Stay tuned.

00:00:21
Speaker 3: We'll get into my conversation with Tammy Roman right after you've quick ass Welcome to Reality with the King. It's me Carlos King, the King of Reality TV and one of the most sought after executive producers in reality television with over ten years of production experience. Twice a week on Reality with the King, we'll sit down with my friends across the entertainment industry, recap our favorite reality shows and revisit on for get a moment that we are still talking and tweeting about.

00:01:08
Speaker 2: Hey, rain Drops.

00:01:09
Speaker 3: Today's guests on Reality with the King is someone I consider one of the greatest reality TV stars of all time. I'm talking about my friend, the living legend, honey, the icon, Tammy Roman.

00:01:25
Speaker 2: We talk about.

00:01:26
Speaker 3: Tammy's legendary career in scripted and unscripted television, dating all the way back from her appearance are married with children.

00:01:38
Speaker 2: Yes, my Girls and actress Honey.

00:01:41
Speaker 3: We also talk about Basketball wives, as she spilled some tea on some behind the scenes stuff that went.

00:01:48
Speaker 2: Down that even I did not know about.

00:01:52
Speaker 3: In addition to that, we talk about her new series called dh One's Unfaithful, and we also talk about how people always have something to say about her health and the way she looks. This is one of my favorite conversations with one of my favorite people. Without further ado, let's get into this conversation with Tammy. Let's talk about your legendary career. Because what I can say because I'm you know, I'm forty two years old, so I've been around a little bit. So I remember you first from being Married with Children.

00:02:36
Speaker 1: Oh okay, okay, I'm dating myself.

00:02:42
Speaker 2: So Tammy. I was watching Married.

00:02:45
Speaker 3: With Children as a little gay boy in Detroit, Michigan, and Tammy had this scene. She had this beautiful Tammy, do you remember that that t bos wig you wore.

00:02:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, well that was my real hair back then. Oh yeah, we weren't into weeds in the nineties, so you know, that was me getting the tea box cut.

00:03:06
Speaker 3: And that was my first introduction into Tammy Roman. So talk to us about how you were always an actress first.

00:03:15
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, yes, Well I always thought I would be in entertainment first, right, whatever capacity was going to drop into my lap. I felt like I knew I needed to be in entertainment, singing, modeling, acting, whatever, right, So that's why people saw me on the Real World have a singing group. But when I came off of the Real World, people didn't understand what reality TV was because it was so new, so they thought we were acting. So I started getting all these auditions. I'm high key talented. I was able to book jobs without having any coaching any you know, like lessons or anything, and married with children one of my first jobs.

00:03:55
Speaker 2: And you were excellent in that.

00:03:57
Speaker 3: My first introduction into reality television was The Real World. Yes, Heather B was the first black woman a part of the first season.

00:04:06
Speaker 2: I love Heather B.

00:04:07
Speaker 3: I listed to her and sway in the morning every morning on my way to the gym.

00:04:12
Speaker 2: And she also.

00:04:13
Speaker 3: Deserves all the credit because she still has a long career. Yes, that is still, you know, very much at its highest moment. But I don't know anybody, Tammy that has the career that you have. You have been on top since then when you were.

00:04:26
Speaker 2: On the Real World? What made you get into reality TV?

00:04:30
Speaker 3: Knowing that you had stardom of acting, you know at the forefront?

00:04:35
Speaker 1: Well, I didn't know what reality TV was right here again, this was a new format. So I was working at an HIV healthcare center, you know, and one of the one of my coworkers came in and was like, oh, I didn't get on this show. They've already casted. And I was like, but what show girl? And she said the Real World? And I had never heard of it. This is the way my life goes. It was a Friday. I went home and MTV was doing a marathon of the first season, and so I watched it and I was like, what kind of show was this? You know, it look seems like real people living in the house. Okay, I feel like I could do that. So my mother and I went to we were living in Burbank at the time. I went to the mall and filmed myself on a camcorder and this so back in the day, it was the type of camcorder that had the VHS on the side.

00:05:23
Speaker 2: You talk about radio shack days, right exactly.

00:05:26
Speaker 1: So she filmed me and that Monday we went up to Universal Studios, which is where MTV's offices were, and I personally took them my tape.

00:05:38
Speaker 2: Well wait, hold on, hold on, hold the hold the hold up.

00:05:40
Speaker 3: You physically taped yourself, recorded it, and you have a tape of your hand, and you found the address of MTV and you walked your black, beautiful self into the offices and.

00:05:54
Speaker 2: Dropped it off.

00:05:55
Speaker 1: I wasn't leaving until somebody looked at it. And the casting director at the time was the lady named Felicia Pisano. You probably know her because she does so much in the business. I'd say, hey, I got my tape and she was like, I'm sorry. I said, yes, I wanted to bring you my tape for that show The Real World y'all got. And she was like, that's not you know, we don't do that. That's not how it works. It's already been cast. And I was like, well, I would like for you look at my tape though, and she was like, not going to do it, and I said, not leave it, because I want somebody to look at my tape.

00:06:22
Speaker 4: So she took the tape into her office.

00:06:24
Speaker 1: Now whether she actually looked at it or not, I don't know, but she came back out maybe three to five minutes later and said, I watched a.

00:06:31
Speaker 4: Little bit of it. I am going to finish watching it, you know.

00:06:34
Speaker 1: Can you just go with that, go with God with that and get up out of here. And so I said, okay, cool. You know, I just wanted to make sure that somebody.

00:06:42
Speaker 4: Looked at it.

00:06:43
Speaker 1: And two weeks later, John Murray and Mary Ellis Bunim made She rest in Peace called me at work and said, we'd love to have you be the cast member on the Reil World.

00:06:55
Speaker 4: We had already.

00:06:56
Speaker 1: Casted the show, but we actually like you better than the person we had and can you do it?

00:07:03
Speaker 3: And just so my listeners can know this, So Jonathan Murray and Mary Ellis mister rest in Peace. They are the owners of the production.

00:07:11
Speaker 2: Company Murray Productions.

00:07:13
Speaker 3: And they are the ones who created the Real World. And you guys may know them now because they were the one who produced The Kardashians when.

00:07:20
Speaker 2: It was on E.

00:07:21
Speaker 4: Correct.

00:07:22
Speaker 3: So Jonathan Murray, I want to say this to you guys.

00:07:25
Speaker 2: He is the older white man.

00:07:27
Speaker 3: He's openly gay, and when I say to you, the coolest guy, he has called executives about me and saying why don't you have more black on production companies speaking on issues called Carlos King.

00:07:41
Speaker 2: That's just the type of man he is. So they called you, and.

00:07:44
Speaker 1: Then I packed my bags and I went in a Winnebago with the Dominice to pick.

00:07:51
Speaker 4: Up John and that's how Road Rules was born.

00:07:54
Speaker 3: That is such a fascinating story because one thing we know about you, you are a hustler. And I love hearing these stories because it shows you that you have to take control of your destiny.

00:08:05
Speaker 2: And you are a woman who did that. And that's the reason.

00:08:09
Speaker 3: Why what thirty years later, like you are still relevant and still working. So that experience happened. And you know, listen, we all know about what happened on the first season of the Real World, But what made you get into basketball wise? Because did you think that the Real World was going to be a last stint on reality television?

00:08:31
Speaker 1: I completely thought I was done with reality TV after Real World because I started studying right the craft of acting with a lady named Chip Field, who if you don't know, that's Kim Field's mom and one of the best in the business.

00:08:47
Speaker 4: And so I was gonna come of tess to be it. I just do reality TV.

00:08:52
Speaker 1: No, I'm scripted, you know, and so I didn't think I would ever be back.

00:08:58
Speaker 4: On it, you know, and they have me do the reunion.

00:09:01
Speaker 1: At the time I was in I think, I don't know if I was engaged to Kenny or married to Kenny. But you like, my life went in a completely different direction. And fast forward seven years later, divorced from Kenny and when I got on basketball wise, it was literally eight months that I went to get EBT and people made that my like my existence, you know what I.

00:09:28
Speaker 4: Mean, And that's not what happened.

00:09:29
Speaker 1: So I want to clear up this moment of my life. I had got cast on a show called Wifey that was executive produced by Queen Latifa. It was a partnership between BH one and BT and it was going to be the first like hybrid co production, you understand what I'm talking about, where two networks come together and do a show. Well, lo and behold, we got our pickup letter. The show was going to be shooting out of New Jersey. So I packed up my whole family, my mom, my, two kids, and moved to New Jersey waiting for the show to start.

00:10:04
Speaker 4: Had been there a.

00:10:05
Speaker 1: Year and VH one and Beet could not come to terms on the agreement, so they decided they weren't going to do the show.

00:10:13
Speaker 2: What was the show wife? The about though?

00:10:15
Speaker 1: It was like the original Empire, So it was me Terrence Howard about you know, a record company executive whose wife takes control of the business because he ends up getting killed.

00:10:28
Speaker 2: Oh wow, and this was scripted. Obviously this was scripted.

00:10:31
Speaker 1: So I'm stuck in Jersey right and don't know how to get back to California because, you know, savings exhausted. I had already been there a year, thinking everything is going to be fine because I'm going to be now on this show that ultimately didn't happen. So I started working at Morgan Stanley. So people don't know that that I worked in finance.

00:10:53
Speaker 2: Were you an investment banker?

00:10:55
Speaker 4: No?

00:10:55
Speaker 1: No, no, on on the administrative side. You know, I was making six figs.

00:11:00
Speaker 4: Like. It takes a lot of money to live in New York, so it was very expensive.

00:11:04
Speaker 1: So I was like, for shit, I've been working my whole life, Like I'm one of those people that it's not like I was destitute, but like you said, I'm a hustler. So it's like I'm gonna go down here and I'm gonna get these goddamn food stamps in this Connecticut. You know what I'm saying, Like, shit the system, oh me. So I think when I got on Basketball Wise, people made it seem like I was broke and homeless, and you know what I'm saying, and that wasn't the case. It was really just, you know, for lack of better you know, example, Tammy hustling. So your question before I started clarifying, Tammy was like basically hustling the system to get the goddamn EBT and the medical so that I didn't have to pay for it. In the city of New York. So I'm riding the train to work one day and this lady goes, oh my god, you're Tammy from the real world and I just saw you on At the time, I was on a series called Moonlight for CBS, which had just gotten canceled. Here again, like all of this is happening simultaneously. Wife, it didn't get picked up, Moonlight gets canceled. I start working for Morgan Stanley, so it's like a collective, a three piece combo. So I'm on the train and she's like, I just saw you a mom light. What are you doing on the train, and so I was like, We're going to work, like you girl, you know, okay, you know.

00:12:23
Speaker 4: Headed to Wall Street, you know.

00:12:25
Speaker 1: And when I got off work, I thought about it and I was like, tell me, why are you Why are you settling for this being your life? You've never been this type of person. You've got to figure out how to get back on TV. Like I said, I prefaced this earlier, the way my life works, Go Home and VH one is doing a marathon of Basketball Wise, which I had never seen. So I've watched the whole first season and I was like, Okay, I used to be a basketball wife. I'm going to train every day. I'm not having the lunches the brunches in the spa days. So I feel like that part of the life should be shown too. So I called v H one and was like, I'm Tarmy Roman. I used to be married to Kenny Anderson. I saw you got a show called Basketball Wise. Are they getting a second season? Because I think I need to be on there, And they were like, okay, call Shed Media, which is another production company for your listeners, similar to Buna Murray, but they were responsible for Basketball Wise. I called them ironically. The person who was the EP of that show, his name was Sean Rankin, and he used to work on the Real World, so he knew who I was and said, come on join the family, and that's how I got on Basketball Wives.

00:13:40
Speaker 4: That was a long story.

00:13:41
Speaker 3: I've never heard that story, and I know all things about reality television, so no, this is so interesting because when a new person enters a season, yes, nine times out of ten, they always make it seem like someone who's a current cast member brought you on on this show.

00:14:01
Speaker 2: They do that with us, okay, because.

00:14:02
Speaker 3: We all thought that Shannie O'Neill brought you on because you two had a friendship.

00:14:07
Speaker 1: Well, like you said, they have to link you to somebody, right, Shannie and I were not friends when I joined Basketball Wise. I knew Shack okay, and we used to live in the same gated community when I was married to Kenny, so you know, we were neighbors with.

00:14:25
Speaker 4: Shack, and I knew he had a wife, but I didn't know her per se.

00:14:30
Speaker 1: But because you know, we had that history of living in the same community, we played it like we were friends, but we didn't really know each other.

00:14:38
Speaker 3: I thought the first season was good. Evelyn obviously was to start the season. She brought it. It was her show. In my opinion, you came on, and as a producer of reality television, it's not often that you have two queen Bees on the same season at the same damn time, because there's usually one. We now called them the fourth maultipl When you came on, you were such a force, and to your credit, it was your authenticity that made a large group of audiences love you and we were immediately drunk to you when you were filming that season. Did you feel that, Okay, I am really making a moment here on the second season of the show.

00:15:29
Speaker 1: I absolutely did not, because I didn't even know how reality TV was working at this time, you.

00:15:35
Speaker 4: Know what I mean.

00:15:35
Speaker 1: So, like just for Clarity ninety three to two thousand and eight, I hadn't done any reality TV, so I didn't even know like the fact that we got schedules and it was like, oh, you're going to have a scene at lunch with so and so. You know, it's like, oh, okay, all of that was new to me. A pa comes pick you up in the.

00:15:53
Speaker 4: Car and drives you to stand like all of that was new to me.

00:15:57
Speaker 1: So at the time, I was still work Monday through Friday at Morgan Stanley, and I only flew down on the weekends. So I didn't even think I would be in the season that much because I was only filming.

00:16:09
Speaker 4: On the weekends.

00:16:10
Speaker 1: So there was like not any intention behind anything other than just be myself and tell my story, you know what I mean, That's really what it was. That's why I think at the end when she you know, when we had that exchange and she called me, you know, the non motherfucking factor and I found out that she had slept with Kenny and Alice, that was all new to me. Like that was like I was like, That's why I had that reaction because I was like, wait, what what.

00:16:37
Speaker 4: Is going on? Like it was just so weird.

00:16:39
Speaker 1: It's like, I've been filming with you for six months, We've had conversations. Everybody knew this but me, you know, like it was really very very authentic and very genuine.

00:16:51
Speaker 3: You know, a lot of people were questioning whether or not that mom was scripted.

00:16:56
Speaker 4: It wasn't. It was not. It absolutely was not.

00:17:01
Speaker 3: In that moment, did you feel like, Okay, we're going to be coworkers and not friends.

00:17:06
Speaker 1: For me, I felt like, there's no way she could possibly be my friend, But not for the reasons that people like to say. Everybody likes to say she's mad she slept with Kenny. That was so not why I was disappointed in the interaction Evelyn that I had.

00:17:25
Speaker 4: It was really based on girl, I've been around you, Like, I'm.

00:17:29
Speaker 1: Not the type of person to smile in somebody's face and have information or be you know, talking behind their back, like I'm I'm pretty much very upfront.

00:17:41
Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying.

00:17:42
Speaker 1: You'll know if I don't like you, if it's something I gotta say, I'm gonna say it to you, you.

00:17:47
Speaker 4: Know what I'm saying.

00:17:47
Speaker 1: And so just to have felt like damn, like, so you really weren't my friend because you knew this and you didn't tell me. But the fact that she slept with him was nothing to me, because fuck, everybody had slept with Kinny.

00:18:02
Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying, Like it was more than I thought we were cool.

00:18:06
Speaker 1: You know, it really was coming from that space. But yeah, I said, there's no way that she could have been my friend. However, the very next day, Evelyn called me and she was like, hey, you know, I feel like we were both set up. I thought you already knew this information, and then I find out that you didn't know, and I feel like they were trying to play us against each other, and I really don't want to have that type of.

00:18:30
Speaker 4: Relationship with you.

00:18:32
Speaker 1: So I was like, okay, cool, Evelyn, and I literally the very next day.

00:18:36
Speaker 4: Went to go have drinks on the on the rooftop pool.

00:18:40
Speaker 2: You know.

00:18:41
Speaker 4: It was like totally squashed.

00:18:43
Speaker 1: And then second season I show up and she's done T shirts, she's done you know, all of this other stuff, and so that's when I knew.

00:18:50
Speaker 4: I was like, she's not capable of being my.

00:18:53
Speaker 1: Friend, and I think that she will say whatever's necessary to keep us from fighting, because that's going to be a problem problem for her, not for me.

00:19:03
Speaker 4: And then you know, that's when I knew that that's what it was.

00:19:05
Speaker 1: Now that scene at Dulce was scripted, was not scripted because like we don't have lines, right, but it was improv So you know, that's what I'll say about that scene.

00:19:16
Speaker 3: It wasn't really heated a month to two of you, but you guys knew that you had to have the conversation and have the dialogue in order for it to.

00:19:23
Speaker 1: Make sense correct, Yes, because there was nothing on the paper.

00:19:28
Speaker 4: There was, you know, like the paper she tore off.

00:19:30
Speaker 1: There was like when I said I'm serving you, there was nothing on it was a blank piece of paper, you know. And we knew that we just had to do that scene to give the viewers something. So if I had to say anything, I would say from season three on. That's when Tammy the Actress stepped in to play season two.

00:19:54
Speaker 4: I was new and green, don't know.

00:19:56
Speaker 1: What's happening on reality TV. I've always been authentic. Let me just TELP, you know, come and give my story, my truth, whatever that is. And then I saw, oh, you're gonna be a jackass if you don't learn how to play this game. And so season three became the not that I fabricated story. My stories, the things that I chose to share were real and authentic. But my interaction with the ladies was more of Tammy the actress because.

00:20:27
Speaker 4: A lot of the stuff they were talking about. I didn't care. If I was.

00:20:31
Speaker 1: Supposed to have an emotion of anger, maybe I amped that up a little more than what I really would have done, you know, so you know people should know that you know about reality TV. There is that point where it's like you act a little bit.

00:20:47
Speaker 3: You become an applified version of yourself because you're realizing there's cameras on correct and I have to give these producers a good scene or I'm stuck here for many hours.

00:20:56
Speaker 2: Is that how you felt?

00:20:57
Speaker 1: That's absolutely how I felt. And then you know they're coming from producers are coming.

00:21:01
Speaker 4: In your ear, like, can you guys give us something? You know what I mean?

00:21:04
Speaker 1: And so you know where I normally might be like, girl, just tell her how you feel, it becomes you pitch what you thinking.

00:21:13
Speaker 4: You know, it becomes that you know, so that so that I can go home. You know. That's that's what it is.

00:21:20
Speaker 3: And did you feel like you needed liquid courage to do that because a lot of moments we saw obviously you love a good beer.

00:21:31
Speaker 4: I do.

00:21:31
Speaker 3: Was the drinking of beer giving you that courage to sort of step outside yourself to give a good scene.

00:21:38
Speaker 1: No, I don't need liquid courage to do anything that I do the craft of acting. And here again I was trained by the best. I can go right into whatever needs to be delivered and I don't need a drink to do that.

00:21:52
Speaker 3: So even when you mush Mika clacks it in her.

00:21:56
Speaker 2: Face, it's drunk.

00:21:57
Speaker 4: But I didn't. But I didn't need.

00:21:59
Speaker 2: The beer to you'd have done that.

00:22:01
Speaker 4: Stung.

00:22:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean like I didn't need the beer to do that. But that, if I have to talk about any moment that I feel was a downer for me, was that moment.

00:22:12
Speaker 4: Because Mika is really a cool chick, you know what I mean.

00:22:15
Speaker 1: And I think that when she came onto the show, we were already a unit and a nucleus that operated in a certain way. It's just like if you go on a scripted show if they've been going for four or five years and you're the guest star.

00:22:28
Speaker 4: It's like you're trying to figure out how to figure, you.

00:22:31
Speaker 1: Know, segue yourself into their already perfect dynamic. And that's the position that Mika was in. And you know, she's cool, but she does talk a lot, you know. And I was drunk, you know, and I'm saying, it's like girl, you lying, which it was like what I had said and what she said. I was saying, we're two completely different things. And that's why I mushed her because I was drunk, and I'm you know, that's just the truth. But I wish I had not have been drunk because I would not have mushed her because it didn't warrant that. And so after I watched that moment back on TV, I was like, Keimmy, why did you do that? Like the minute you see her, you need to apologize to her because it didn't need all of that for.

00:23:20
Speaker 4: That scene to work, for that moment to happen.

00:23:23
Speaker 1: And so I did when I the first time I got in the same room with her, I immediately apologized.

00:23:29
Speaker 2: And did she receive it?

00:23:30
Speaker 1: She actually did, And I always say she was gracious enough to accept my apology because she had a hard road after that scene too, you know, like trying to live her life, do appearances, and everybody's like, that's why Tammy must you know what I'm saying, Like you got to deal with all the aftermath, you know, And.

00:23:46
Speaker 3: So now it reminds me of when Kenya and Portia had their unfortunate moment at the reunion. And I don't know, I don't know if ken you ever share this publicly, is what you said, Like Kenya had to deal with the aftermath that of fans Portia's fans saying that's why she dragged exactly, that's why she dragged Jack and constantly saying that to her face when she's out in public.

00:24:12
Speaker 2: And obviously that happens a lot. I know.

00:24:15
Speaker 3: That's that's something Candice also said happened to her when her and Monique had the altercation. So what people don't understand is you have a life after.

00:24:23
Speaker 2: That moment forever. Yes, And that footage is on.

00:24:27
Speaker 1: Rotation constantly, constantly, you know, and they constantly rerunning it. You know, season two and three is back, you know, seventeen years. It feels like seventeen years ain't been that long, but you know, that's how it feels. Even with me with Keisha and the purse, you know, people think I'm a purse feel and it's like, no, that.

00:24:47
Speaker 4: Girl knew what was happening in this scene. The producers. She knew.

00:24:51
Speaker 1: The producers told us, you got to give us something. She knew she left her purse. She knew she could have came to my room and got her purse back. Like it just was like, what is happening here? You know, And she let people run with that narrative, and it was It was difficult for me because I'm just trying to do what they asked me to do.

00:25:11
Speaker 3: It's the moment where Keisha was a cast member. Long story short, you guys are on a pass trip. Listen, no, Shay, you were aggressive to Keisha and you were like her purse was next to you, and listen. I will never forget watching that, and a lot of people felt like, oh my god, Tammy is a bully, and so it became so bad Shannie O'Neill had to do a pickup scene. So a pickup scene, guy, is when the season is wrapped and you're in plus production and you're sort of putting the.

00:25:41
Speaker 2: Episodes together with your editors.

00:25:43
Speaker 3: And that moment between Tammy and Keisha became father on social media and it was so bad. Shawnee had to do a pickup scene talking about my friends and you know this aggressiveness.

00:25:58
Speaker 2: Did you feel that was a slap in the face.

00:26:01
Speaker 1: I absolutely felt betrayed by that, because Shawnnie was the one who showed me the footage of Keisha talking smack about me in the airport. As soon as we touched down for that cash trip. Shawnee showed me all the bts footage of Keisha just ripping me to shreds. So like how you say, little docile Keisha, No, that's not the case. But what happened was and this is you know, fuck it now. At the time, Keisha was involved with one of our shows producers, so instead of airing the footage the way it really happened, so that you could tell a real story, they cut.

00:26:45
Speaker 4: Out everything that made Keisha look.

00:26:47
Speaker 1: Like the bad guy and only left all the stuff that Tammy did, Which is why I felt betrayed by Shawnee, because it's like, you know, you sat up in that airport and showed me all the scenes. You know, you showed me that, and you know that we had been there three days on this cash trip. Jennifer stayed in her room, she was in hide, and nobody wanted to deal with Kenya, who was there at the time, and the producer said, we don't have nothing, guys, you gotta do something.

00:27:17
Speaker 4: So the next.

00:27:17
Speaker 1: Scene up was us at this bar and me going off on Keisha because I was asked to do that.

00:27:26
Speaker 4: Okay.

00:27:27
Speaker 1: Then at the end, Keisha hits the ground running, going back to the hotel and leaves her purse. I pick up her purse, bring it to the car. Now, what I am wrong for, which I've always admitted, was going through the woman's purse because I wouldn't have wanted nobody to do that like to me.

00:27:45
Speaker 4: So yeah, I was wrong for that.

00:27:47
Speaker 1: But everything else guys in Truth and Reality, Keisha knew what was going on. Seanne knew what was going on. The producers knew what they asked me to do, and everybody left me out there to dry. And because you typically can't speak against the production, right, I gotta be quiet. I can't even tell people what I just said to you.

00:28:10
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:28:11
Speaker 3: No, it's interesting because look, people come to me saying, is this fak Is this real? It's because they can kind of see some of those things happening, and a lot of people now are way more.

00:28:21
Speaker 4: They're more savvy now.

00:28:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're savvy now. And listen, not all productions ran that way, but some are. Your honesty about That's so interesting because at that time I was a reality producer and watching that scene, I was fooled. I really thought that was a real moment based on how it was chopped and screwed.

00:28:40
Speaker 1: It was chopped asscrude, So I was like, you know, when we got back to the hotel, I was like, just tell that girl to come get her purse.

00:28:49
Speaker 4: I don't got no.

00:28:50
Speaker 1: Problem with her.

00:28:50
Speaker 4: I mean, it ain't that serious. What are y'all doing?

00:28:52
Speaker 1: And they were like, we'll go over to her room and give it to her. And that's when I was like, ky shut, can you shut? Here's your purse, girl on the door. All of that was because they asked me to do that, because Tammy got back to that hotel room, kicked off her shoes, laid down on her bed, and they were like.

00:29:07
Speaker 4: She wants to leave and she wants a purse. I said, tell her her come get it.

00:29:10
Speaker 1: Because to me, I just I'm acting. I acted my way through that, did what y'all asked me to do. And now it's it's like and see it's over. Everybody relaxed, go back, you know, go back to doing your regular schedule program and we're all good.

00:29:24
Speaker 4: And you know, they they really literally left me out to dry on That.

00:29:30
Speaker 3: Was that one of the many times you felt that you were portrayed by Shawnee or the producers with your stay on the show.

00:29:38
Speaker 4: Yeah, they were. That was one of them, because there have been many. There have been many.

00:29:44
Speaker 3: Your last season broke my heart because I was like, this woman has carried this franchise on her back, and she's such a hard worker, and when she shows up, she shows out. She makes sure to give y'all a good scene because everyone wins.

00:30:01
Speaker 4: We all wines.

00:30:02
Speaker 3: And your last season, I felt you were so stabbed in the back because I felt that Shannie was choosing to rekindle her relationship with Evelyn and was leaving you out to dry. And it was sad to watch because listen, I think Evelyn's also a great reality star. I think she also shows up and gives a great scene. But I felt like, if you were going to be that loyal to Evelyn, damn it be that loyal to tell me?

00:30:34
Speaker 2: Did you feel that way too?

00:30:35
Speaker 1: That's I did, and I think, you know, I felt like a lot of boundaries had been crossed, you know, And when you talk about just having integrity and respect for another person, I felt like I wasn't getting that, you know what I mean? And people want to hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. And for me to sit at that reunion and have somebody admit that they sent letters to production you know about me and my personal business. That was a lie and admit that they did those things that started to train for me of like this some bullshit right here, you know what I mean, Like because I would never do that, Like I would never do that to you, but you, young lady, old woman, because you ain't fall off me, were like trying to you know, like just break me behind the scenes because I was just as successful as you in front of the camera and that wasn't cool, you know, so when and another thing they did with that reunion too was I left pretty early, so they put it together in a way where it seemed like I was saying things first, which is what they always did. It always had to be Tammy started it because Seannie and Evelyn started this franchise to get so the loyalty from the production company and the executive producers was to them. A lot of things were shown out of order if you understand what I'm saying, so or cut out, you know, to make it skew favorable for them because the loyalty was to them.

00:32:20
Speaker 2: Shanie and Avalanche always got the good at.

00:32:22
Speaker 1: It always for the history of the show, which is why if people are really true watchers of Basketball Wise, they started to see Tammy doesn't talk as much, Tammy does not saying as much.

00:32:35
Speaker 4: Tammy, it's not doing what she used to do because I don't.

00:32:37
Speaker 1: Know if you're gonna show it truthfully, and so now I've got to protect myself.

00:32:41
Speaker 4: So that's really what people start seeing.

00:32:44
Speaker 1: But that back to what you were saying that reunion was like, I've had enough. You've talked about my eggs, which is a lie. Shannie is backing up your lie, so you know, I can't fuck with her or you. And then you're going sending letters to the production and the production company behind the scenes, spreading lies about me, and they're engaging in conversation with you, which was mind blowing to me, Carlos, because I feel like, if somebody sent you a letter talking about Nani, You're not gonna sit and go.

00:33:16
Speaker 4: You right, that bitch be tripping like on an email.

00:33:20
Speaker 3: Never and let me be clear, some ladies have tried. And the reason why I have a great rapport with all my girls is because I don't engage in the behind the scenes talk about my cast.

00:33:32
Speaker 1: But this executive, high level executive did, and I have to this very day.

00:33:39
Speaker 4: The emails.

00:33:40
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying of this conversation, and the girl admitted, yes, I sent letters, and.

00:33:47
Speaker 4: The audience just overlooked that.

00:33:48
Speaker 1: So you're admitting that you've been shitting on me and trying to do all kind of shit behind the scenes.

00:33:54
Speaker 4: Nobody cared.

00:33:55
Speaker 1: They put it like I talked about her eggs before she talked about my And quite honestly, I'm only having this conversation with you because I know this is what the context of your show is about. And it provides a piece of closure for me because I will never ever answer any more questions about basketball. Why that part of my life is closed. So I'm giving it all to you, and then I'm getting on down the highway. So she was doing a lot to me that people just didn't know that I was dealing with. And so that's why the very last season that I was on the show, I opted not to get a raise, not to extend any options, and not to film with her.

00:34:38
Speaker 3: Wow, because at the end of the day, you chose your piece over.

00:34:42
Speaker 1: Profits, correct, And I said, no, I don't want it.

00:34:45
Speaker 4: I'm gonna leave and.

00:34:47
Speaker 1: Go on about my business because I know I can do other things.

00:34:52
Speaker 3: Baby, we are not done yet. Stay tuned for more of my conversation with Tammy. Will be right back after this quick break. This is Reality with the King and I'm Carlos King. Let's get back into my chat with Tammy. I'm a loyal basketball wife's when you left.

00:35:23
Speaker 2: Listen.

00:35:23
Speaker 3: Every show needs a force multiplier and every show needs the chemistry of the cast. You are such a force and Evelyn was too. We are going to admit that, but without you being there. And I'm watching this current season and I'm I'm pretty sure you haven't watched it. I think it's safe you haven't. So it is the most awful thing I've seen a.

00:35:46
Speaker 2: Very long time. Wow.

00:35:48
Speaker 3: And I've said this on my podcast recently that that show needs Tammy and Evelyn. And you know, listen, I love Jennifer as a friend of mine. We all know that Jennifer isn't a lead, right Jen, No, she's not a lead. She wants to be able to come in her cute fashion du ALTT one two and keep in moving. That show is bad, It's awful. In the words of Meini Leaks, you never win when you play dirty.

00:36:16
Speaker 4: You never win when you play dirty.

00:36:18
Speaker 1: They may be able to get Evelyn back, you know, onto the.

00:36:21
Speaker 2: Show, but it's gonna be. It means more than her.

00:36:24
Speaker 3: I know, Shannie got married. Were you invited to the wedding?

00:36:27
Speaker 4: I was not.

00:36:28
Speaker 1: I was not invited to the wedding, and I don't know why I would have been, you know what I'm saying. Like Seannie and I have not spoken to each other since I left the show, and I had saw on the blog where her father had passed away, and I did reach out to her and say, hey, I'm sorry for your loss, you know, because I had met her father and you know, I know they had a wonderful relationship in dynamics, so I know that probably hurt, you know, to lose him. And I reached out to her and said, you know, sorry for your loss, and she reached back out and said, hey, thank you for that A And then if I've done anything to ever hurt you over the years, like I'm really sorry about it, and you know, I thank you with the thumbs up. And then we've gone back to our separate corners and our separate lives like we were before I extended that condolences.

00:37:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's that's there's closure.

00:37:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, the beauty of you is that show did not make you, and it certainly did not break you, because now you have a brand new show on being called Unfaithful.

00:37:38
Speaker 2: And let me tell you something, as a fan of cheaters and a fan, you.

00:37:42
Speaker 3: Know, of those type of shows, tell us about Unfaithful.

00:37:46
Speaker 4: I am so excited, Carlos, because you know, like quite.

00:37:49
Speaker 1: Honestly, you look out and you see everybody going through their winning season, right, and it just seems like, okay, lord, here I am, you know, you know, waiting, waiting, waiting.

00:38:01
Speaker 4: Let me tip on wait, you know.

00:38:03
Speaker 1: And I just feel like once I made the decision to leave the you know, basketball wise and really get back to what I love to do in scriptive programming, he just opened the floodgates. Like he just showed up and showed out. And so they came to me with Caughtney act Unfaithful, and it was like.

00:38:24
Speaker 4: Who better than me? You know what I mean. It's like, of course, you know, I too was a fan of cheaters.

00:38:30
Speaker 1: I have been that person who's been in a relationship where there was infidelity. I've written a book on how to make your relationship cheap proof. So it just kind of fell into place and I'm excited for everybody to see it because, yes, like Cheaters, it's a relationship show.

00:38:49
Speaker 4: But we've layered that thing, you know what I mean, Like you.

00:38:52
Speaker 1: Get to sit down the suspicious lover gets to sit down with the other woman and have a real conversation, not just confrontation, but conversation with that person, which Cheeters didn't do. You can team up with that person and take down the man, or you can choose to remain solo and take them both down by yourself.

00:39:13
Speaker 4: We've got that, And then I wanted to be able.

00:39:16
Speaker 1: To which is one thing I love about me in general is I always want to add value to whatever it is that I'm involved, even like with the reality stuff. It's like, is my telling this part of my life going to help someone?

00:39:31
Speaker 4: Right?

00:39:31
Speaker 1: Is it going to add value? It's not just going to be the Shenanigans. Can I offer something? And I want to do the same with this show. And I feel like so many people go through life saying toxic relationship, toxic relationships, but it's so general and broad that people don't even know when they're in a toxic relationship. So we're educating while giving you the Shenanigans and the drama and you know, the entertainment of these, you know, non committed relationships that people are being caught in the act in. But you know, it's like, if you don't know what hoovering is, if you don't know what parentsification is, if you don't know what flying monkeys is, then you could very well be in a toxic relationship and not even know. Because to us, toxic is oh he put his hands on me. Nah, toxic to us is gas lighting.

00:40:26
Speaker 4: Oh.

00:40:26
Speaker 1: You know you said that. It's so much more to being in a toxic environment than people are aware of. And so we've got all those elements and I'm really excited for people to see and it's my own thing, and you know, I just hope people support me in it, you know.

00:40:42
Speaker 3: And you're not only the starvet, aren't you also executive producing?

00:40:46
Speaker 1: Get I'm a consulting producer. I'm not executive producing. But you know, I was a part of the development phase of adding those things that I just spoke to you about to make sure that it was really well rounded and flushed out and we weren't just doing the.

00:41:01
Speaker 4: Same thing that had already been done.

00:41:04
Speaker 1: So they afforded me a consulting producer credit, which I'm thankful for.

00:41:08
Speaker 2: Congratulations with that, thank you, thank you.

00:41:12
Speaker 3: Would you ever go back into duing reality TV? Or do you want to focus on other ventures right now?

00:41:17
Speaker 1: Well? You know which I know you know, but your viewers may not know. Caught in the act is reality TV. Reality is under an umbrella called unscripted, so it's still reality TV, it's just a different format. But would I go back to an ensemble? Absolutely? What you got, Carlos. You know, I tried to get up on that Real House Life two times and both times they were like, girl, go on somewhere. We don't want you, you know, So I said, well that won't happen, But I would absolutely go back depending upon here again, is it a world we haven't seen? Are we offering people something different than what's already been done a hundred thousand times?

00:42:01
Speaker 4: You know? It would have to really be.

00:42:02
Speaker 1: A flushed out concept and environment, you know, where we're something new and it feels fresh.

00:42:09
Speaker 4: Yes, But me going to have lunch with.

00:42:12
Speaker 1: So and so and going to somebody's birth keays birthday party, and then we got to argue about something at kids.

00:42:18
Speaker 4: No, I'm not interested.

00:42:22
Speaker 3: No, I just see something so much bigger for you. And that's why I'm so happy for you with the calling, the acting, faithful show, you acting on Mispatch on BT Plus.

00:42:32
Speaker 1: And it's amazing going to work every day because all you do is laugh all day long, like the mispat that you guys see on TV and her stand up. That's who she is all the time. So I love being over there with that. I've got a new scripted drama that's coming to be ET as well, which launches in August, which I actually helm that show, and I've got a great cast on that show as well. This is exclusive. I don't know if of you were supposed to be talking about it, but it's coming to be ET Linear and we're excited about it. So there's there's a lot of things that are happening.

00:43:09
Speaker 3: You have such a wealth of knowledge and experience.

00:43:14
Speaker 2: When you talk, people listen.

00:43:16
Speaker 4: Thank you.

00:43:17
Speaker 2: When you were on.

00:43:18
Speaker 3: The Real Alani Love and you shared your personal story about your challenges with body image and going through body dysmorphia and your honesty, it stops people in their tracks because we love you and you're an icon because the moment you wire your teeth on the real world. Yes, you've always given us the reil. You have a lot of fans who are rooting for you, who love you. How are you doing health wise now, because obviously you were so open about it, and I had no idea you were going through that after all the years I've known you.

00:43:53
Speaker 1: If you look at me over the course of my life, it's like, who's going to be one hundred and twenty pounds and get their my mouth to lose more weight, right, which is what I did on real world, Like, I've always suffered from this mental disorder, because that's really what it is. And I've had phases over the course of my life where through therapy, like I try to deal with it, right, I try to, for lack of better verbage, be normal like everybody else and eat and do you know all.

00:44:24
Speaker 4: Those things and gain weight and stuff.

00:44:25
Speaker 1: So I've had moments where I try to do that, but the minute something triggers it, I'm back on the train, you know what I mean. And so you know, Carlos, every day is a struggle, if I'm being quite honest, you know, And I'm just trying to be as healthy as I can be, you know, I don't need people talking about my weight all the time because it doesn't help me. You understand what I'm saying, and so let me kind of just go through my processes and try to get back on a better mental health path so that you don't see my claviical and you don't see my shoulder bone and you don't you know, you know what I mean, Like, let me just try to work my way through it.

00:45:10
Speaker 4: But right now, you know, I feel like I look great.

00:45:13
Speaker 1: But that's the problem, right you know what I mean, because everybody's like she needs some help, you know. So it's one day at a time, That's what I will say. It's one day at a time.

00:45:23
Speaker 3: Yeah, And listen is one of those things where I know firsthand the moment you publicly talk about your struggles, whether it's eating or alcohol or whatever, it's sort of keep it kind of holds you accountable.

00:45:37
Speaker 1: But it holds you accountable and hostage at the same time, because because I feel like I put it out there so that you guys can understand what I'm dealing with and then now let me take the steps necessary to get better. And why I say, but it holds you hostages because every time I put up a fucking picture because now people know that that's my issue.

00:45:59
Speaker 4: It's like she needs to eat.

00:46:02
Speaker 1: She you know what I mean. It's like she was you know, you know what I'm saying when she got by in this morn. Yeah, she ain't trying to get better. And it's like I shared it with you guys because I want you to have empathy and compassion, not just continue to break me down. Let me just try to keep working through it, and then one day there's gonna be one day I'm gonna put up a picture and it's gonna be like, huh, she looked good.

00:46:24
Speaker 4: She got to you guys, because to me, I look great.

00:46:28
Speaker 1: But for you guys, let me just try to work through it.

00:46:32
Speaker 3: We are all praying for you because we love you. Ever we want to see you win. So last, but not least, what is it that you want my listeners to know about you that no one knows because they saw one side of you on reality TV?

00:46:53
Speaker 1: Well, I think they just need to know that I'm God fearing and I'm about my.

00:46:58
Speaker 4: Business and I'm an excellent you know.

00:47:02
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know what else because I feel like I've shared so much of my life that they've seen everything.

00:47:08
Speaker 4: You know, So I feel like most people should know me.

00:47:11
Speaker 1: But you know, like I love the Lord and I might say shit and fuck, but I definitely love the Lord. But yeah, I'm all about Christ and my ancestors and trying to do what I need to do to make my mom proud who's no longer here, and make my daughters proud who have to live on past me.

00:47:36
Speaker 3: Oh, Tammy, we can talk all day. I love her so much. She's so real, she's so genuine. And to have someone that's been in this business as long as she has but still comes across so relatable, that's nothing but a gift. And this conversation, I just have a Tammy was also a gift. Love you, Tammy, thoughts, opinions. Read about my conversation with Tammy. Email me at Reality with the King at stitcher dot com or leave me a voicemail at three one zero five ninety three eight one eight eight. Thank you for listening to Reality with the King. New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday, Share, comment, follow, and subscribe to Reality with the King. Wherever you get your podcast, visit Realitywitheking dot.

00:48:33
Speaker 2: Com and be sure to follow.

00:48:34
Speaker 3: Me at the Carlos King underscore on Instagram and Twitter. Reality with the King is a production of More Sauce by Stitcher. It is executive produced by Me, Carlos King, and Jasmine Heinley Brown. We are also produced by Sierras Bradley, Rix La Portia Thomas was the associate producer on today's episode. Engineering and music by Marcus ham More sauce I