Just two days after the premiere of her new reality series, Vivica A. Fox is courting controversy.
Last year, the 52-year-old actress launched an all-male, all-black “Magic Mike”-style exotic dance revue called “Black Magic” in Las Vegas. She’s documented the whole thing for a new Lifetime reality series, “Vivica’s Black Magic,” which debuted Wednesday.
From the sounds of it, however, she might want to reconsider her approach to her new business. In a Friday interview with New York radio station Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club” morning show, Fox said she has no interest in having her strippers dance for anybody but women ― and that means no gay men, too.
“There’s no need to. They dance for women,” she told “The Breakfast Club” co-hosts Charlamagne tha God and DJ Envy, as seen in the TMZ video above. “It’s called ‘the ultimate girls’ night out’ for a reason.”
Fox’s comments instantly sparked debate on social media and among a number of LGBTQ-inclusive media outlets. A BET piece questioned whether or not the remarks were offensive, while writer Nigel Campbell claimed he’d been invited to watch the dancers perform at the “Vivica’s Black Magic” launch party. “Clearly [Fox] wanted support from the gay audience,” Campbell wrote in an article for Instinct, which caters to queer readers. “Guess I was wrong.”
Others, like The Wrap, pointed out that Fox previously incensed the LGBTQ community when she seemed to imply that her ex-boyfriend, 50 Cent, was gay in a 2015 “Watch What Happens Live” appearance.
Perhaps in an effort to avoid the fallout that occurred after the 50 Cent controversy, Fox attempted to clarify her comments on Twitter. She didn’t mean to offend, she said, but felt that gay men would be better off seeking male strippers elsewhere.
She didn’t seem to mind if gay men watched “Vivica’s Black Magic” ― from the comfort of their living rooms, that is.
In the meantime, here’s to hoping she makes an effort to be more inclusive of all audiences.
UPDATE: After this story was published, a representative for Fox told HuffPost, “Vivica never said her new show does not welcome gay men. There’s no need for further comment here.”
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