Members of the Greek community and non-members were in an uproar after VH1 released the trailer for their new reality show “Sorority Sisters,” which chronicles the lives of nine Atlanta area women who belong to four different sororities.
Critics of the show were unpleased with its depiction of black women, and some say it painted fraternities and sororities in an untrue light. After a viral campaign to boycott the show, a petition with more than 78,000 signatures calling for it to be cancelled and 51 companies — including Honda, the NBA, McDonald’s, Sport’s Authority and Victoria’s Secret — pulled advertising from the program, VH1 decided to cancel the show. They aired the final three episodes of the season back to back.
Tatiana Ingram, a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., said many people were upset because the show focused on people representing Greek organizations, and their behavior may not accurately represent their organization’s mission.
“In the other cases of shows those people are representing themselves and themselves only,” Ingram said. “However, to center a show on nationally organizations and not expect unrest is silly.”
People took to social media to express their opinions on the show — going as far as starting a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #boycottsororiotysisters in hopes that more advertisers would boycott the show.
“The movement was successful. It got a lot of top names to publically pull from the show, ” Ingram said.
However, the controversy did not stop VH1 from initially airing the show. 1.3 million people tuned in for the premier, according to VH1.
Raychelle Alexander, a 21-year-old student at the University of Memphis, said even though there was success in getting companies to pulls ads from “Sorority Sisters,” all of the uproar still served as free publicity for the reality show.
“As much as people hate it, people are going to still watch to see what is going on,” Alexander said. “It is really just publicity for VH1 because people are going to watch so they can be like ‘yeah, I hate it too.’ “
April McRae and Rwanda “Joy” Hammond, two cast members of the “Sorority Sisters,” have been suspended from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. for partaking in the show, according to the sorority’s website.
The question still remains how much damage has “Sorority Sisters” caused the Greek community.
While Ingram believes VH1 abused the Greek community’s image, she said that one group’s misrepresentation of their sorority wouldn’t tarnish their reputation.
“I think the show is like any other show honestly there for entertainment,” Ingram said. “The entertainment industry did as they always do and found another area to exploit. It’s up to the participants in the show to behave themselves according to their morals and standards. I do not think that one chapter represents the overall standards and values of Zeta Phi Bets Sorority Inc.”
