Our weekly interview series with Basketball Wives‘ Shaunie O’Neal continues. Below, Shaunie discusses some of the finer points of this week’s episode: the disastrous shoot with The Source that she postponed, why she gave Evelyn the information on Ashley’s party and what it was like to be a firsthand witness to Stampgate ‘11.
Any thoughts on the disastrous Source shoot?
That was a hot mess. I think I handled it well. I was very patient. I couldn’t go off on anybody anyway, because the guy that was there had nothing to do with The Source. He had a regular 9-to-5 job and was there just for that day to be the runner. It wasn’t his fault and he was absolutely wonderful to us. The best part of it was that I had my own makeup girl and my own hair stylist so I was able to get my hair and makeup done for the day. That’s the only upside I can give you.
Did you ever end up rescheduling that shoot?
No, but from what I hear, they still do want to do something.
Was it worth it to pass up press like that?
Yes, absolutely. I don’t want to do anything half-assed. If I’m going to do it, if I’m going to be in some magazine, let’s do it right. Let’s make the best of it and make it gorgeous and beautiful. I’d rather be right than not.
It does strike me as a difficult position to be in: if you back out, you risk being labeled a diva, but if you stick with something that’s sub-par, then everyone makes fun of you.
Exactly: “What was she thinking?” I’ve probably been guilty of that, too. As a person looking at the pictures, you don’t think about all the people and opinions involved that turned something lackluster: you blame the person in the picture. I don’t think I was being� a diva, though. I could have walked in, seen that stuff and walked out. But I tried to work with it. Then when I started trying the stuff on, it was just like, “I can’t.” It wasn’t going to make a cute picture. It wasn’t workable. What’s funny is that I have a stylist friend in New York and she told me, “Sweetie, always bring your own shoes, just in case.” From now on, I will.
A few of our commenters seemed miffed that you gave Evelyn the details of Ashley’s party.
I think anybody would have done that. I had no idea they weren’t invited on purpose. Ashley was having an event, and we’d all met Ashley at the same time at the same place, so it was like, if I’m invited, I’m assuming everyone is. I don’t know her very well, either! We didn’t confer with each other regarding invites to her other charity event ? we just all went. When Evelyn called me asking where it was, I wasn’t thinking that she didn’t get an invitation or the details or whatever.
I thought you were kidding around when you called it an “oversight.”
I know that she and Jenn had an uncomfortable moment at the last event, but as far as I knew she didn’t have a problem with Evelyn. If Jenn had said, “I wasn’t invited,” solo, I maybe would have thought back to the words she and Ashley had, but when Evelyn said it, it was just like, “Oh, come on.” It just really didn’t cross my mind that there’d be a problem.
When you asked Marlon to accompany you, you said the event could be “drama for a good cause,” which actually was the perfect way to put it.
After telling them the address and based off of Evelyn’s conversation, I had a feeling she was going to say something to Ashley. I didn’t think she’d come in fighting or embarrassing anyone, but I did think she’d go to the source and ask about it.
But then, the major drama that ended up happening had little to do with Evelyn: it was Tami and Jenn who blew up.
Who would have thought?
Did you have any sense that Tami had been carrying around resentment for what Jenn said about food stamps?
Never. She never mentioned it to me, even in the restaurant [where Jenn first said she'd never seen a food stamp]. Evelyn and I caught it because it was an uncomfortable comment to make, but she didn’t bring it up and I never thought we’d hear about it again.
Were you mortified during the course of this very loud, public melee?
Absolutely. Marlon and I were on the opposite side of the room and the voices just started raising. At one point, he was like, “Are you gonna get up and see what’s going on?” I was like, “Hell no!” I wanted no part of that. At one point, though, it got so loud and there was this echo inside this place. It stopped everything, everyone was staring and at that point, I didn’t want anyone to know that I knew them. But they’re my friends and I couldn’t just sit there. Someone was going to have to go to stop it. I tried to get Tami to walk away, which is a difficult task in itself. I did the best I could to get her out of there, but I had no idea what was wrong with her. I heard the food-stamps thing, but I’m like, really? You’re in here screaming and arguing over food stamps? Let’s just go. It didn’t dawn on me till after that she was drunk. I wasn’t watching her down drinks like that. But I did think that was the most ridiculous thing ever. I got Tami out of there and then apologized to Ashley. I was embarrassed. I told her, “I am so sorry about everything.” They didn’t air that, but Ashley can vouch for me that I apologized on behalf of everyone. That was so unnecessary, a hot ghetto mess and it shouldn’t have happened. When Tami took her shoes off and tried to physically go after Jenn, it hit an all-time low. I’m sure it was awesome to watch if you weren’t associated with them, but being there was mortifying. I love Tami to death, but she is no longer allowed to drink. We cut her off. There’s another thing that happens as a result of her drinking this season, and it’s another one of those times when it’s not even the place to drink a lot. Tami will be chug-a-lugging in the corner and we won’t even know it!
We saw you meeting with a distributor in advance of launching your shoe line. Where is that today?
That’s still in the works. I had originally picked a boot for fall of 2010, and we just weren’t able to get that done quickly enough for it to come out. So now it’s about going back to New York and picking the spring line. It’s still in the works and I’m trying to get it done by the end of this year for sure.
You said you were hands-on and then you proved it by getting on the floor and showing exactly what you wanted to do to a boot they showed you.
That’s me, though. I’m very particular and I really have a problem with not seeing the final result or not going through the process. It could be throwing a party or launching a shoe line. I want to be there for the process to make sure it’s right in my eyes. I go 110 percent in everything I do. That way, if something’s wrong with it, it’s my fault and I can’t blame anybody else.
Check out Shaunie’s recently launched official site, follow her on Twitter and friend her on Facebook.
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