“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” star Erica Mena will not be part of the long-running reality TV franchise when its next season airs. Mena was fired after facing fierce backlash for calling her co-star Spice a “blue monkey.” The two women were involved in a verbal spat about parenting when remarks that hit below the belt were unleashed.
Mena shares two children with co-star and ex-husband Safaree. They divorced in 2022 after three years of marriage. Show creator Mona Scott-Young shared a post that read, “Handled,” on Saturday (Sept. 2) as an official statement regarding the controversy was shared on the official “LHH” social handles.
“The ‘Love & Hip Hop’ franchise has never shied away from hard conversations in our community. Working hand-in-hand with our partners, viewers will see the impact of Erica Mena’s remarks play out in the final three episodes of the season. Effective immediately, she will not appear in the next season of ‘Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,'” read the statement.
The decision to remove Mena from the series, which she has been part of since 2018, has stirred mixed reactions from viewers. “I find it funny how ‘LHH’ just now firing Erica Mena [because of] what she said, but didn’t they film it and see it before everybody else[?] It seems it wasn’t a problem when they aired it. What she said was f**ked up, but they be setting [people] up, too,” tweeted one person.
“Erica Mena’s firing from ‘Love & Hip Hop’ is justified. Not only did she call Spice a ‘monkey,’ but she also added sound effects. The cast is predominantly Black. I am certain Spice was not the only one offended by Mena’s racist remarks,” tweeted another person.
And a third comment read, “Good! If this was a white person, the outrage would be top-tier! If this was the LGBTQ+ community, she would’ve been gone before the show even aired. Give people of color the same respect! To see people in the comments saying she shouldn’t be fired is disgusting! I bet she will watch her words now!”
Spice told Forbes Breaking News that she was “good” and “in a better space right now.” At the time of this report, Mena has not issued a public statement about the ordeal.