OxygenSorry All My Babies' Mamas, but you are not going to be on television!
Oxygen has decided to pull the special All My Babies' Mamas before it even aired due to online outrage over the show's content. "As part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special," Oxygen said in a statement. "We will continue to develop compelling content that resonates with our young female viewers and drives the cultural conversation."
Though it was reported that the special would have featured Shawty Lo, an Atlanta-based rapper who has 11 children with 10 different women, a source tells E! News that Oxygen did not have a deal with Shawty Lo, just that he and his family were being considered. The production company was also considering other families as well.
Our source adds that All My Babies' Mamas was a one-hour special in development and not being developed as a series.
Author Sarah Lamb, whose Change.org petition against the special received 37,000 signatures, released a statement addressing All My Babies' Mamas' cancellation. "On this official birthday of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, who fought for justice for all, and especially children, he once said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.' I am pleased that Oxygen Media has heard the outrage of over 37,000 consumers and shareholders who said, ‘enough is enough,'" Lamb said. "We will not support any network and advertiser which exploits the plight of children and targets young women with stereotypical, dangerous, unsafe messages. This petition, this victory is for them. Adults have choices and today, children, through 37,000 petitioners, have voices."
(E! and Oxygen are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)