‘Basketball Wives’ Evelyn Lozada and Jennifer Williams Are the Same Mean-Girl Duo from 2010

The Big Picture

• Evelyn and Jennifer have a history of berating and bullying other women on Basketball Wives, which continues with the new cast members.
• Evelyn’s position as the leader of the cast is due to her relationship with executive producer Shaunie O’Neal, making Jennifer her loyal sidekick.
• While new cast members like Clayanna and Vanessa stood up to the bullies, Clayanna was fired while Evelyn faces no consequences for her actions, showing a need for a reboot or cancellation of the show.

Evelyn Lozada and Jennifer Williams are on-again-off-again besties on VH1’s Basketball Wives. The duo have spent just as much time dissing each other as they have loving each other. One thing that connects the two beautiful ladies is their enjoyment of berating other women they deem beneath them. The debut season of Basketball Wives in 2010 positioned Evelyn as the leader of the pretty privileged girls pack that followed her lead bullying other women on the show. Jennifer Williams was Evelyn’s loyal sidekick and had her back in throwing dirt on anyone who dared disagree with Evelyn. Jennifer’s loyalty was rewarded by being Evelyn’s No. 1 confidante until Evelyn turned on her. Despite such, they always reunite when there is drama involving another woman they can clique up against. Eleven seasons later, Evelyn and Jennifer are still playing the same game they started the series with and bullying three new ladies. Clayanna Warthen, Vanessa Rider, as well as social media sensation Brittany Renner are all new targets. Brittany saw the writing on the wall and quickly acquiesced to prevent being hazed by the OGs, but Clayanna and Vanessa stood up to the two aesthetically privileged bullies, resulting in one getting fired and the other running for cover. Evelyn and Jennifer prove their mean-girl antics won’t let up any time soon, despite their age.

Evelyn’s positioning as Queen Bee of Basketball Wives isn’t based solely on being “the pretty girl”. As a BFF to executive producer and creator Shaunie O’Neal, Evelyn inherited the alpha position in Shaunie’s absence. Initially, when the series premiered, audiences tuned in to get a glimpse of Shaunie’s lifestyle as the likable wife of superstar player Shaquille O’Neal. Shaunie’s friend Evelyn was revered with caution by the other ladies because of her relationship with their boss and cast mate. As Shaunie moved on after her divorce with Shaq, Evelyn transitioned seamlessly to being the leader of the cast, making Jennifer the Robin to her Batman and cast mate Brooke Bailey rounding out the mean girl clique.

Basketball Wives Has Repurposed the Same Stale Drama Over a Decade Later

After a hiatus, Basketball Wives returned with the promise of a more elevated and mature Evelyn and newbies that would bring a younger audience to the franchise. Vanessa, a longtime interest of producers, added credibility to the franchise by actually being an actual wife of a former basketball player. Married to former NBA shooting guard Isaiah Rider, Vanessa had been approached to be on the show years prior, but her husband wasn’t with the program. According to Vanessa, Isaiah changed his mind this season because they were told the show wouldn’t have all the violence and drama of before and the couple would be able to showcase their new business, a gym franchise titled, Battleground Gym. Brittany, a trending pop culture sensation, has made a name for herself by vocalizing her sexual conquests with various athletes and high-power players on social media was a surprising addition to the cast, but her relationship with her child’s father, NBA player, PJ Washington, gave her an undeniable connection to the franchise. Clayanna is the ex of Andre Iguodala, a four-time NBA champion, which led her to believe that her positioning among the ladies should reflect the star power of her ex. Unfortunately for Clayanna, the hierarchy on the show isn’t related to the ladies’ connection to the league, because the only OG with a connection to basketball is Jackie Christie, the wife of ex-NBA star Doug Christie.

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The three newbies were joined by Jac’ Eil Duckworth, the fiancé of WNBA superstar Natasha Howard. Whether it was Jac’Eil being the first lesbian basketball wife or her no-nonsense Mississippi upbringing, she wasn’t targeted by mean girls Jennifer and Evelyn this season. Jackie spelled things out in a confessional suggesting the new ladies needed to “kiss the ring” and bow down to the original cast members. The sorority set-up didn’t work for Clayanna and Vanessa who felt their relevance to the show should be based on their current relationships and lifestyle. Clayanna wasn’t feeling Jennifer from their initial meeting when producers set her up to appear as though she was intruding on the ladies at a meeting. Jennifer questioned Clayanna’s background in a condescending way and the fiery Latina immediately clapped back. Jennifer attempted her usual dismissive tone, but unfortunately, Clayanna wasn’t familiar with reality television etiquette and shoved her in response.

Evelyn Lozada Isn’t Held Accountable For Her Actions

Clayanna was undeniably wrong for responding to Jennifer’s snide words with physical violence, but BBW audiences have been wise to Jennifer and Evelyn’s ability to demean and belittle other women without consequences. The two attempted a conversation to snuff out their differences, but when brought back to the group, the peace was soon extinguished in exchange for new beef. During the group’s excursion to Arizona, Brittany invites the ladies to a pool party and, once again, Clayanna is triggered and lunges at Jennifer. Evelyn jumps in defending her friend, and snatches Clayanna’s wig, and puts it on her own head, clowning her in front of the ladies and via social media. Rumors circulated after the episode that Clayanna was fired from the show following the altercation, which is fair, but there should be consequences for Evelyn as well.

In years past, Evelyn has thrown drinks at cast members, physically attacked them, and been the ring leader behind other women fighting each other. One season she called a co-star “ling ling,” a racial slur stemming from her Asian heritage which she also hasn’t received backlash for spewing. Coincidentally, other reality shows on the same network have implemented policies categorizing racial slurs as verbal abuse and labeling intolerable behavior. This wasn’t the first time Evelyn has been accused of using racial slurs against cast mates. Allegedly, she used a monkey emoji on social media when going back and forth with former BBW cast mate Ogom Chijindu, who ultimately was fired from the show also, stemming from issues with her fall-out with Evelyn.

Twitter supported Evelyn’s actions but her positioning and privilege have made her a fan favorite for years. Unlike Clayanna, Eveylyn has never had to face consequences for her actions and Jennifer is able throw rocks and hide behind Evelyn’s hands to avoid repercussions. While Evelyn claims snatching Clayanna’s wig was an attempt to defend Jennifer, security was on hand and would not have allowed a fight between the two ladies. After the episode, Evelyn posted a tweet vowing her loyalty to Jennifer and her BFF responds in kind that the two are back and have each other’s back.

Basketball Ball Wives Needs a Total Reboot Or Needs To Be Canceled

The upcoming reunion for this season’s show is certain to be filled with accusations from Evelyn, Jennifer, and Brooke about why the new members were problematic on the show. Unfortunately, the ladies who have held the Basketball Wives franchise in the palm of their hands for over a decade have shown no maturity or growth since the show’s inception. Evelyn and Jennifer have had moments that felt genuine, but ultimately, they resort to the mean girl behavior that made them a dynamic duo from season one. Watching a 47-year-old mother of two snatch a wig off another woman’s head in 2023 in defense of her 48-year-old friend, surely isn’t the definition of must-see TV. If anything, this is another reason that Basketball Wives needs either an entire reboot, or to gracefully bow out. There is nothing new coming from this series and, quite frankly, the mean girl act falls flat when the women are years beyond the age that qualifies as “girlish” behavior.

Basketball Wives airs every Monday on VH1. Past seasons can be streamed on Paramount Plus.

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