Oxygen Shelves 'All My Babies' Mamas'

2:06 PM PST 1/15/2013 by Aaron Couch

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The reality special centering on rapper Shawty Lo had been criticized as perpetrating negative stereotypes about African-American families.

Oxygen has decided not to move forward with All My Babies' Mamas, a one-hour special that had been in development at the cable network. Mamas, which would have centered on rapper Shawty Lo, had come under fire from civil rights groups claiming the show would perpetuate negative stereotypes about African-American families.

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“As part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special. We will continue to develop compelling content that resonates with our young female viewers and drives the cultural conversation,” Oxygen said in a statement released to The Hollywood Reporter.

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The program was criticized by ColorOfChange as well as the The Parents Television Council, both of which launched petitions against the show.

Lo, whose given name is Carlos Walker, has 11 children with 10 women. His 19-year-old girlfriend is the same age as his eldest daughter.

ColorOfChange executive director Rashad Robinson praised Oxygen for its decision.

"We thank Oxygen Media for taking this important step. The tremendous response from over 40,000 ColorOfChange.org members, coupled with national outrage from black folks, sent a clear message that exploitative television shows like All My Babies' Mamas are unacceptable," Robinson said.

Robinson told THR last week that his organization planned on pressuring Oxygen and the show’s potential advertisers to pull support.

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Previously, Oxygen emphasized the show was not meant to represent a particular demographic of society.

“Oxygen’s one-hour special in development is not meant to be a stereotypical representation of everyday life for any one demographic or cross section of society,” the network said in an earlier statement.

Email: aaron.couch@thr.com

Twitter: @AaronCouch