ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 15: Erica Mena attends Hype Hair magazine cover release at Ventanas on February 15, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joi Stokes/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 25: Lil Scrappy attends Mark Pitts And Silly Humans Present 11th Annual BET Post Celebration at Poppy on June 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Prince Williams/Getty Images)
After Love & Hip Hop Atlanta aired an episode of Erica Mena calling Spice a “blue monkey,” reactions took over social media. As a result of the controversy, Mena “will not appear in the next season” of LHHATL, per an announcement from the franchise.
“The Love & Hip Hop franchise has never shied away from hard conversations in our community. Working hand-in-hand with our partners, viewers will see the impact of Erica Mena’s remarks play out in the final three episodes of the season,” the statement said. Effective immediately, she will not appear in the next season of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.”
Though she has not publicly commented on using the historically racist term or her ban, that hasn’t stopped others from spilling. Ex-husband Safaree Samuels and franchise producer Mona Scott-Young each reacted online to the news.
Castmate Lil Scrappy, comedian Jess Hilarious, and Mehgan James shared their thoughts on the show ban.
Starting with Young, she kept her reaction simple, writing “Handled” on her Instagram Story.
Like Scott-Young, Safaree’s message was indirectly about the LHHATL decision but clearly about Mena. He shared a photo of himself and their two kids, Safire and Legend.
“My kids need they mother. My mumma taught me if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it at all. Protected by my God 24/7 365,” Samuels wrote in the caption.
Her ban from next season’s LHHATL marks two weekends of personal woes for Erica Mena. Last weekend, she was involved in an altercation with security at an Atlanta lounge, culminating in her arrest. She’s facing four charges related to the incident.
Following the franchise’s statement, Lil Scrappy addressed their decision during a livestreaming session. He started by acknowledging that he didn’t know if the news was real–and added that others he asked hadn’t heard anything internally.
However, despite not having a friendship with Mena, he accused LHHATL of being “pretty bozo” for setting the stage for the Spice incident.
“I mean I think it’s pretty bozo for them to fire somebody after they set sh*t up. They set you up and get you all hyped up, have someone talking sh*t to you. Know what I’m saying? And then you react and then they want to fire you. You feel what I’m saying? And I don’t even f**l with shawty. I don’t f**k with Erica at all.”
He added that LHHATL would have to fire him if someone spoke negatively about his kids on the show.
After his initial reaction, he circled back on livestream to add that he watched the entire clip of her argument with Spice. Though he said he didn’t wish any specific punishment on her, he did state that “Erica Mena was wrong.”
“Erica Mena was wrong, and whatever they got for her, gotta deal with it cause colorism is real. We do know that. Racism is real, we do know that. Hate is real, we do know that.”
Meanwhile, reality TV star Mehgan James also seemingly blamed the network, signaling their decision to air the disagreement.
“LHHATL should have edited what Erica said out completely. Not in defense of her bc she is wrong, but they knew what she said before they aired it,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).”
As opinions on both sides bubbled, Jess Hilarious took to social media to point out what she sees as a trend in arguments with Erica Mena. She said that bringing up Erica’s eldest son, King, is what people “always do.”
You’ll recall tensions flared into a physical reaction — Mena flipping a table onto Spice’s lap — after Spice suggested King doesn’t like his mother. As the women traded insults, Mena called Spice a “blue monkey” and made animal sounds in her direction.
Within days of the episode airing, Spice reassured fans she was “doing great” despite the comment.
In her recorded reaction, Jess said it’s “f****d up” that King gets brought up and that it shouldn’t be happening.
“Like Spice said, your son don’t like you, and I can’t call you a motherf*****g monkey. I don’t think Erica Mena was using it as a racial slur. Maybe Spice look like a monkey to her. Tell me Ash don’t like me, whatever the f**k you look like imma call you that. And the fact that they filmed it back in the dizzle, and it come on now and then you choose to fire her for the backlash. You not even protecting your cast.”
