Originally published in April 2014. Updated September 22, 2026.
Update Note: This article discusses events from Season 3 of Basketball Wives LA and reflects the author’s commentary at the time. It has been updated for factual accuracy, terminology, grammar, and historical context while preserving the original perspective and subject of the article.
The world went into a frenzy during the season finale of Basketball Wives LA. Sundy Carter, a newcomer to the cast, verbally took things too far when she ridiculed fellow cast member Brandi Maxiell over her struggle to conceive another child. Brandi had been open throughout the season about her battle with ovarian cancer and her fertility struggles. The show even documented Brandi and her husband Jason meeting with a fertility specialist, while another episode showed Malaysia supporting Brandi through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
To be a mother and ridicule another woman because she is struggling to have a child is ugly. However, when the woman you are ridiculing is a cancer survivor and her health history is something that has already been openly discussed on the show, the comment becomes even more disturbing. Cancer does not discriminate based on how healthy, attractive, or successful someone appears to be. Brandi’s cancer and fertility struggles were not some secret storyline created after the confrontation. They had already been part of her story throughout the season.
Sundy was a major source of drama throughout the season. We watched her become involved in conflicts between the other women, including the tension between Draya Michele and Jackie Christie. At one point, she even became involved in an altercation with Draya. I understand the theory that drama makes good television, but this was crossing the line. At what point do we say, “Enough,” to watching Black women tear each other down, literally and figuratively, all for a check?
My question to Shaunie O’Neal is this: How are you the executive producer of a show and just as shocked as the rest of the world when you see this level of disrespect portrayed on the show? I understand that an executive producer is not a camera operator and is not personally responsible for every piece of footage or every edit. However, when you are an executive producer, questions about the kind of programming you are helping create are fair. After previous controversies surrounding the franchise, I remember the discussion about reducing the emphasis on violence and conflict. So what happened, Shaunie? What exactly are you doing behind the scenes? I am officially lost.
Instead of providing a positive platform for women, Basketball Wives LA often looked like a reality television boxing ring where Black women were encouraged to tear each other to pieces. That may make for compelling television, but it also raises questions about what viewers are being asked to accept as entertainment. Peep Shaunie’s response on Twitter the day after the finale aired.
The fact that she issued a statement in response to the controversy was not surprising, but I remember reading it and still having questions. Was this really a genuine response? Come on, Shaunie. As an executive producer, you cannot completely separate yourself from the culture and conflicts that your show puts in front of its audience.
Cancer is not a joke. Brandi’s experience with ovarian cancer was real, and her fertility struggles were connected to a deeply personal part of her medical history. During the season, she openly discussed being a cancer survivor and wanting another child. The finale confrontation was particularly painful because Sundy’s comments targeted something Brandi had already shared publicly with the audience.
Sundy’s comments were cruel regardless of whatever disagreement had taken place between the women. During the confrontation, she told Brandi to take her medicine and go try to make a baby. VH1’s own account of the finale documented the exchange and Brandi’s emotional response afterward. There is no excuse for using another person’s medical history and fertility struggles as ammunition during an argument. Regardless of what happened between them, walking away would have been an option.
The situation was so controversial that Charlamagne Tha God addressed Sundy’s behavior on The Breakfast Club and named her his “Donkey of the Day.” But beyond the jokes and the television drama, what stood out to me was Brandi’s response. We watched the comment hurt her, and that pain came out through anger and tears. Brandi and Sundy were not close friends, but they had been cordial with one another. So if this was how Sundy spoke to someone she was merely having a conflict with, what would she say to someone she genuinely considered an enemy?
The situation was especially painful because Brandi’s cancer history was not fabricated for the show. She had been open about her diagnosis and her desire to have another child, and her fertility journey was part of the season’s storyline. VH1 described Brandi at the time as a cancer survivor who was trying to have a second child, and the show followed her and Jason as they pursued fertility treatment. Just think about how many women watching that show may have recognized something of their own story in hers.
When I look at Brandi Maxiell, I see a beautiful Black woman whose makeup is always on point and whose hair is always laid. But you cannot look at someone and know everything they have survived. That is one of the things that stood out to me about Brandi being so open about her cancer experience on such a popular show. Her story allowed viewers to learn about ovarian cancer and about the fact that serious illness does not always have an obvious outward appearance.
I still believe there was a larger conversation hiding underneath all of the reality television drama. What happens when we become so comfortable with watching people fight for entertainment that we stop recognizing the difference between television drama and genuinely hurtful behavior? There is a difference between having an argument and deliberately using someone’s illness, fertility struggles or personal pain as a weapon.
At the time, I could not imagine an apology that would make Sundy’s comments feel any less hurtful to Brandi. Looking back, the moment still raises the same question for me: Why are we so comfortable watching Black women tear each other down for entertainment? And more importantly, why do we keep calling it entertainment when the people involved are clearly being hurt?
Maybe it is time for all of us, including the people producing these shows, to do some soul-searching.