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Before Kim, Tiffany Ruled Reality TV


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After two seasons of Flavor of Love, Tiffany ‘New York’ Pollard, turned her pain into reality pop stardom, emerging as the indisputable H.B.I.C. with her Flavor of Love offshoot, I Love New York. Although she failed to win over rapper Flavor Flav’s heart twice, in true Black woman fashion, she turned lemons into lemonade, and jump-started her independent reality career. The show followed Pollard on her quest for a mate through two seasons of contestants fighting for her heart. It premiered on VH1 in 2007, debuting the same year as E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The premiere episode of I Love New York was seen by 4.4 million viewers. (Kardashians had 1.3 million in its first month.) At the time, ILNY was the “most-watched show in all of cable television.” According to The New York Times, ILNYeven surpassed that week’s opening episode of The Sopranos.

Pollard’s success also faced the cultural criticism of how Black women are portrayed on television in a similar way that other shows with primarily Black casts like The Real Housewives of Atlanta have. When Flavor of Love was at its height, viewers questioned whether or not New York’s character was helping push a stereotypical narrative. Reviews of I Love New York even painted the contestants as thugs and Pollard as a young woman looking for love in all the wrong places.

For Kim Kardashian West, reality TV was a tool that solidified her fame. In its later seasons, the show has become supplementary to the Kardashian-Jenner clan’s overall media presence. While ratings have fluctuated, the Kardashians remained on the air, using reality TV to their advantage. In contrast, when Black women use reality TV for their gain, they are accused of perpetuating stereotypes or disregarded all together. (Cardi B has been able to slightly break this mold with her segue from Love & Hip Hop: New York, to a Grammy award-winning rap album, but she too has been accused of perpetuating negative stereotypes.) The prevailing backlash against KUWTK hasn’t kept the show from getting renewed season after season, wedding after wedding, and appropriation after appropriation

As a Black woman in reality television, Tiffany Pollard deserves acknowledgment for her contribution to the genre beyond memes and gifs. That’s not to say she doesn’t appreciate the wave of attention she’s receiving from her meme fame.

More: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/03/224609/tiffany-new-york-pollard-reality-show-kim-kardashian-kuwtk

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anigif_enhanced-buzz-13714-1381764047-0.

I still with Flavor Of Love episodes just to see her crazy antics!

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weed

imagine Tiffany was a Kardashian and Kim was the Tiffany :diane:

she's truly a legend all bc of her personality! literally nothing else, she speaks and the memes/jokes/gifs are made. An original icon

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Joemayzin

tumblr-lenm61-C9-RO1qc1fazo1-500.gif

 

she was so iconic with her fighting with pumpkin on flavor of love over the infamous "spit incident" and her comments in general to the other girls :lmao:  also her I Love New York spin off was so funny to watch! 

 

she's a guest on this season of RPDR so can't wait to see her critiques of the queens! 

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Miel

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that she is an icon of reality media culture. Plus, her appearances as of late have been very... I don't know, endearing? 

I still think about the story of how Flavor of Love production literally had no idea how she made it onto the set. 

3 points in and ready for more
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Didymus
7 minutes ago, Miel said:

I still think about the story of how Flavor of Love production literally had no idea how she made it onto the set.  

:air: :lmao:

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skaxboy

I’ll take any of the VH1 trashy dating reality shows over the Kardashians any day. I actually enjoyed the spin off “I Love Money.” New York is still the HBIC tho lol. Plenty of gays I know love her too so hopefully VH1 gives her another season after her guest judge appearance on Drag Race. 

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lavenderblondee

I deep down miss VH1 reality shows. Rock Of Love was my life as a kid lmao

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