Jackie Christie Announces Basketball Wives LA Has Four New ‘Wives’ + Defends Shaunie O’Neal

ON FILMING THE NEW SEASON OF BASKETBALL WIVES: LOS ANGELES AND THERE BEING FOUR NEW CAST MEMBERS:

It’s going fantastic…I can’t give away much, but I can definitely say I’m back, Draya Michele, Malaysia Pargo, and then four new girls that’s just absolutely amazing. On no, they will not allow me to do that [identify the four new girls]; I wish I could. But stay tuned, because pretty soon, they’re going to announce everybody. But I think it kind of got leaked out a little bit that someone had saw there were two new cast members, but they made it very clear for us not to speak about that. I can say they’re exciting, they’re going to shock a lot of people, and this is going to be our best season yet.

ON LAURA’S COMMENT THAT SHAUNIE O’NEAL RUINED BASKETBALL WIVES BY CASTING HOS:

Yeah I actual did hear about it, and I feel like everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and I feel like Shaunie has done a great thing. I have to take my hat off to Shaunie first and foremost. Not only is she one of my closest friends, I respect her; I feel like I’m a part of her franchise, and I’m proud of the show. I feel like there’s a lot of girlfriends and fiancées and everything just in general, but it’s okay. The show is titled Basketball Wives, but it doesn’t necessarily have to mean wives. It could be an ex-wife, like with the Miami version, a lot of them are ex-wives, but they are wives. So I think it’s more about the females involved with professional athletes, basketball athletes world. That’s what I think the show is basically saying. So our show this season without giving it away, there’s about three or four wives actually on Basketball Wives: LA. So it is what it is. I don’t really know what happened as far as how that conversation came about with Laura making those comments, so I’d be speaking out of turn, but I look at what Shaunie has done in only a positive light. And not only Shaunie, but Shed Meida, VH1, everybody.”

ON WHAT SHE KNOWS ABOUT BROOKE BAILEY AND THE GOVAN SISTERS’ EXIT FROM THE SHOW:

No, I don’t know. I’m doing a movie right now, I’ve got so much on my plate. I’ve got a shoe line, Shiekh Shoes, coming out, I’ve got a cosmetic line, so I’ve been involved in all of that, and the season started. You know, I film a lot, pretty much five days a week almost, so I really wasn’t even paying attention. I hadn’t seen tnose guys in a while, and I just saw Laura and Gloria the other night. It was great to see them; they look great. They’ve got some amazing stuff coming up too with their projects. As far a Brooke, I haven’t seen her. I went to her event about two months ago, so I was as surprised as everyone else when I looked up and saw that. So I don’t know how that all happened. I wish everybody the best. You know, ex-cast members and stuff, I hope that they do some great things. But I’m very excited about Basketball Wives: LA season three. I’m over the moon about it, and I can’t wait for it to come out. 

[Mara the Socialite]