After weeks of negative internet backlash, The Real Friends of WeHo finally aired its premiere episode on MTV this past weekend, and the response is exactly what was expected — not so good.
Immediately following the premiere, cast member Todrick Hall posted a handwritten, 10-page letter on his Instagram account where he said he had to mentally prepare himself for the “insane influx of hate that comes my way.”
The letter continues to claim that the LGBTQ+ community has given more pushback on the show than any other community.
He also asked people to focus on queer representation, saying “the gays are creating petitions to get a queer show taken off the air, instead of focusing on the other 165 hours of the week when representation is either lacking or nonexistent.”
A few days later, Hall returned for another 4-page handwritten letter where he addressed comments saying “we don’t want to see a bunch of rich, fit, entitled privileged gay men.”
These comments, to Hall, beg the question, “Why are we thrilled to watch rich Kardashians or Real Housewives, but we only want to watch gays be underdogs, not well off, not too confident?”
Hall further detailed a video from a local WeHo gay club turning off The Real Friends during the premiere to be met with cheering from the crowd. Hall equates the reaction to booing off Trump and questions why the community is at odds with itself when everyone else is against us, too.
In response to diversity, Hall admits there could be more on the show, but that there wasn’t a large pool of gay celebrities to begin with. He ends the letter by saying, “Fun fact: The average annual earnings for gay men in the U.S. is $59,618 compared to $57,032 for straight men. We are successful, we work hard, and we deserve to see ourselves thriving on TV.”
Comments on both of Hall’s posts were met with both support and further backlash.