EXCLUSIVE: ‘RHONY’ Star Bershan Shaw Dishes On Representing Black Culture On The Show, Says Eboni K. Williams Misjudged Her Right Away + Clarifies Her ‘All Lives Matter’ Comment

Bershan Shaw, Eboni K. Williams

EXCLUSIVE: ‘RHONY’ Star Bershan Shaw Dishes On Representing Black Culture On The Show, Says Eboni K. Williams Misjudged Her Right Away + Clarifies Her ‘All Lives Matter’ Comment

Bershan Shaw recently sat down with theJasmineBRAND for an EXCLUSIVE interview, and she laid everything on the table!

During our interview, Bershan Shaw, who appears in the current 13th season of The Real Housewives of New York City, dished on her experience with representing Black culture on the Bravo reality show and said she was ready for more diversity on television. She stated:

“I think, as a Black woman on a white show, there’s always teachable moments where people can learn from us. Because I am ready for diversity in television… So it’s time that we support each other on these shows. Tweet about us. You know, Instagram–show that you’re supporting us. Because they really don’t get to hear our voices. And so I felt like it was time to show that we are entertaining. We are fun. We’re successful. We’re millionaires–we have money! C’mon baby, it ain’t just white women… They need to know that we are boss women too.”

Bershan Shaw

She continued, stating she personally tries to meet people where they are individually while still maintaining her authenticity:

“I reach and teach people and talk to them where they are. You gotta know everybody is different… The real issue is that Black women and white women don’t hang together [in a real way]. You may have a colleague, you may go to a happy hour, but we don’t really get to know each other… [However,] I am who I am, and I’m not changing if I’m around the white billionaire, the white janitor, the white investment banker–Bershan Shaw will never change. I’m gonna be who I am. So I don’t have to play it up for you or play it down for you. Or bow down to you and be a c**n to you. I’m gonna be who I am, period.”

Bershan Shaw then reflected on how her RHONY castmates received her personality on the show, pointing out:

“I think they may think I’m too much. But hey, some Black people may think I’m too much! I just think I’m a very vivacious, bold person. And I’m a very ‘tell it like it is’ person… I grew into this person. I have grown to stand up and speak up and speak my mind. So now I’m unapologetic about it, and I love people who are like that.”

Eboni K. Williams

Shaw went on to share her thoughts on Eboni K. Williams‘ “Harlem Nights” event–as well as the idea of “preaching” to white women. She stated:

“You have to go [into conversations] with different people at how they are. I think the Harlem  dinner was great–I think it was beautiful. I just think white women–who are at this age–don’t want to be preached at and taught. They are not in university–they’re just not… That’s not how you teach them. That’s not how you get to know them.”

At this point, Bershan Shaw sought to clear up her “All Lives Matter” statement she said during Eboni K. Williams‘ event, and she also gave some personal background. She claimed:

“I didn’t mean it like we don’t matter. Let’s be crystal clear to clear this up. I’m a Black girl who has a Black father who marched Selma and Washington. Mother was in Tuskegee. I’ve been protesting and with my parents since day one. What I’m saying is I’m tired of… our race being divided. Separated out. Like we don’t have the rights. I’m tired of our Black men getting killed. My brother got brutally beat up, brutally beat up, when he was 21. We fought for that for 10 years and we lost. Because why? Because it’s a white man’s world–let’s be crystal clear. So how you get to people is you gotta meet them where they are.”

Segueing to her conflict with Eboni K. Williams, Bershan stated she was offended by how Eboni judged her right away. She stated:

“I think it was a judgement where she doesn’t know me. Because if you knew me you would know I’m not ‘All Lives Matter’ vibes. That was a judgement. Get to know me before you say that. Because I can’t say ‘Oh, you’re giving over-the-top boring vibes’… I can’t say that. I’m saying what she’s doing is needed. But it’s how you deliver it.”

She then continued to discuss her views on Black Lives Matter and the Black community:

“We have to step up and stand up and support each other. But it’s time that we get included in this. We are in America–let’s be clear. Stop acting like we’re not. We don’t live in a separate country in a separate continent. We live in America. I want everyone to treat us fairly. It’s our time. It’s our time for us to stop being brutally oppressed… And it’s time for us to wake up and support one another. Forget about other races–let’s support us as women. Let’s inspire us as women… Black Lives Matter starts from supporting each other and not being haters of one another… It ain’t about preaching to a white woman one time. We’ve gotta get our affairs in order too.”

Bershan Shaw then explained that she wanted to join the show with support for Eboni, pointing out that both of them being Black leads to a pressure to have each other’s back. She also said white women don’t feel similar pressures because they’re the majority. Regarding her intentions with Eboni, Bershan said:

“I think we have had so much struggles in our lives that we have been divided in so many ways. Since slavery, since coming to America, since the Civil Rights movement. I think it’s time that [we support each other]. I’m all for that. So I will never down Eboni and throw shade and throw her to the wolves. That’s not even me with a person I don’t like. When they go low, you go high. I’m not here to throw her under the bus. We had bumps in the road, and I wish we got it together better. I wish we got on the same page.”

Wrapping up our interview, Bershan proceeded to defend her comments on Black Lives Matter:

“Everybody knows I’m real–I’m a sista for real. So do not ever think that I am shunning Black lives. That wasn’t even the point of it. That’s not what I said. I said what I said, and I will say it in confessionals… I’m tired of us being pushed to the side–I’m tired of us not being in the equation. I’m tired of not being in the room and not being a part of the story. That’s what I’m saying.”

What do you think about our EXCLUSIVE interview with Bershan Shaw? Comment down below to let us know!