OWN’s Iyanla Vanzant Visits Baltimore to ‘Fix the City,’ Twitter Responds With Collective Eye Roll

Host of “Iyanla: Fix My Life” is taking part in three-day “healing service” at a local church

OWN

Iyanla Vanzant has already tried to fix troubled rapper DMX, Chris Brown‘s ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran and a man who fathered 34 children with 17 women. Now she is taking on her biggest challenge yet — the city of Baltimore.

The host of OWN’s “Iyanla: Fix My Life” will tape three sessions this week at Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple, the church announced Tuesday on Instagram.

Following the April 27 funeral of Freddie Gray, the African-American man who died after suffering a severe spinal cord injury in police custody, Baltimore faced several days of unrest and calls for changes in the city’s policing policies.

Iyanla Fix Baltimore PosterEmpowerment Temple pastor, Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, told the Baltimore Sun that Iyanla’s help is needed because “The people are in pain and need a way to get through it.”

The self-described spiritual leader’s OWN series focuses on fixing people’s problems and helping them overcome conflict. But Twitter users aren’t convinced the TV host is the right choice to help ease Baltimore’s pain.

“Iyanla couldn’t fix DMX. How is she going to tackle Baltimore?” one Twitter user wrote.

Another tweeted: “Iyanla is really nothing more than a glorified ambulance chaser going from one place/person to the next looking to make money.”

The flyer for the Baltimore event says Tuesday’s gathering will focus on women. On Wednesday the goal is to help men heal, then on Thursday, the focus will turn to the community.

While the sessions will be taped for a podcast, a spokesperson for OWN told TheWrap, “Iyanla’s appearance is not affiliated with the network” and “will not air on the Oprah Winfrey Network.”

Iyanla trended on Twitter throughout the day Tuesday. Below is a sampling of reaction to her Baltimore visit.

https://twitter.com/iamprograms4/status/603320811450019840

https://twitter.com/BaconSexSleep/status/603410138897100801

https://twitter.com/AD_Renaissance/status/603171012142829569

https://twitter.com/CorporateBarbie/status/603291609396948992

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