"All My Babies' Mamas" has been pruned from the family tree by the Oxygen network.
Oxygen has decided to cancel the controversial reality program ahead of its scheduled premiere, amid protests saying that the one-hour special would reinforce stereotypes about black men.
“As part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special," an Oxygen spokesperson told TheWrap in a statement on Tuesday. "We will continue to develop compelling content that resonates with our young female viewers and drives the cultural conversation.”
The special, which was being developed by Oxygen for a spring premiere, generated widespread anger due to reports that it would have followed rapper Shawty Lo (pictured) as he tends to his family, which includes 11 children from 10 different women. (In actuality, Shawty Lo and his family were among a number of families that were being considered for the show,)
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ColorOfChange.org, which collected more than 40,000 signatures for an online petition to have the show shelved, cheered Oxygen's decision to deep-six the program.
"We thank Oxygen Media for taking this important step. The tremendous response from over 40,000 ColorOfChange.org members, coupled with national outrage from Black folks, sent a clear message that exploitative television shows like 'All My Babies' Mamas' are unacceptable," the organization said in a press release.
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"The airing of a reality show like 'All My Babies' Mamas' would have reinforced many of the stereotypes about Black men and women that have power to influence public policy," the group continued. "Research shows that exploiting persistent racial stereotypes that marginalize Black Americans have real world consequences."
ColorOfChange was far from the only group to take issue with the show. The Parents Television Council, no strangers to voicing their displeasure with programming that they disapprove of, added to the chorus of protest over "All My Babies' Mamas," urging its members to contact Oxygen about the show.
"This new project in development at Oxygen is grotesquely irresponsible and exploitive, and we urge the network to cease any further work on it immediately,” PTC President Tim Winter said in a statement earlier this month. "We are asking our members to take action and let Oxygen know that this program would undermine children and families. If Oxygen moves forward with the program, we will be contacting every corporate sponsor that buys advertising time on the Oxygen network to hold them accountable as well."