Watch: Amid Calls for Boycott, Todrick Hall Responds to 'Real Friends' Backlash with 'Mean Girls' Vid, Note to Queer Community
The first episode of MTV's new reality show "The Real Friends of WeHo" aired Friday night, right after a shortened edition of the Snatch Game episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race." After instantly sparking controversy since it was announced earlier this month, it was no surprised that viewers trashed the debut on social media - it also holds a 4% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show stars singer and dancer Todrick Hall, stylist and "Drag Race" judge Brad Goreski, as well as actor Curtis Hamilton, Buttah Skincare CEO Dorión Renaud, TV host and business owner Jaymes Vaughan, and digital entrepreneur Joey Zauzig. MTV says the show is an "unfiltered and honest look at a select group of friends living, loving and pursuing their passions in the West Hollywood community. Consisting of some of Hollywood's most influential and successful LGBTQ+ celebrities, personalities and entrepreneurs."
The cast spoke out against her show's immediate backlash and shot down comparisons to "The Real Housewives" franchise. During the cast's interview with The Daily Mail, Hall was quick to point the finger at the queer community.
"I feel we as the LGBTQ+ community always say we want more diversity, we're always fighting and screaming for more representation," the "Celebrity Big Brother" star said. "But when it does look or come in the package that we wanted it to come in or doesn't completely reflect our experience we don't support it, in fact we try to destroy it.
"The call is coming from inside the house," he added. "It's really sad to see because you would think most of these negative comments would be coming from outside the queer community but when you take a closer look, I would say around 95% of them as coming from queer people."
Much of the criticism of the show, however, is aimed at the casting of Hall, who as TMZ reports, has been "accused in the past of not paying rent on his houses and stiffing former employees on money owed to them. People on social media are calling for a boycott of the show because of these accusations." Some have called for a boycott of the show, the website notes.
The celebrity news website Too Fab adds that Hall first caught major heat when he played "Celebrity Big Brother" in early 2022, where he placed second. The website writes that while he was inside the "Big Brother" house and cut off from the outside world, "social media exploded with allegations he didn't pay his dancers and even lied about owning his own home." There have been reports about Hall owing thousands of dollars in back rent.
"Making matters worse, his behavior in the house wasn't seen as much better, with a lot of nasty behavior caught on camera as he bullied his way into a Top 2 finish. Todrick might have even won the season if the celebs hadn't had a chance to go home and see what he'd been doing and saying (he definitely played the strongest game)," Too Fab adds.
Indeed, his costars, including fellow "RuPaul's Drag Race" judge Carson Kressley, spoke out about his behavior. Hall also recently opened up about comments that he isn't a "nice person."
On Friday, Hall, who has worked with Taylor Swift and Beyonce, took to Instagram to address the backlash, "internet hate" that he says he receives "EVERY SINGLE DAY from the moment [he] wakes up." In his post, which includes several handwritten pages as well as a lengthy caption, Hall says "The Real Friends of WeHo" is a "bittersweet" moment for him because he has "to mentally prepare myself for the insane influx of hate that comes my way."
"It is extremely difficult to stay grounded and remember that most of the people spewing hate don't personally know me or see me as human," he added before again calling out the queer community.
"We fight for acceptance, yet we don't accept our own. We fight for representation then fight against it when we get it, because it doesn't come in the form we'd hoped," he wrote.
He also added: "MTV would not ask RuPaul to cut his/her Emmy Award-winning hit on it's 15th season to accommodate our little six episode show. These decisions are made months in advanced and even after our six weeks are up, you won't be getting 90 minute episodes."
Hall then said: "Let's practice FAQ checking things before we stare creating petitions against shows that are giving queer people on/off camera job opportunities."
The performer then addressed mental health: "We are quick to post about mental health when someone is pushed to the point of taking their own life. Let's normalize being empathetic when we see bullying happen because breaking points exist for everyone."
Hall went on to acknowledge that he has "made tons of mistakes" but has learned from them, saying "while other people are talking, I have been touring the world paying and hiring queer people, putting money in the pockets of queer people of color & giving them a platform to share their stories."
He added that he owns his home and he "would never lie to my fans about that." He also addressed allegations he has not paid his dancers, saying, "I love my dancers...I have never not paid a dancer I promised payment to...EVER! If a dancer has done gigs of videos without pay; it was discussed before they ever stepped foto into rehearsal."
He finishes his note by apologizing "to anyone I have offended/pissed off/burned over the past decade since I've been in L.A. I take the comments, even the nasty ones, and try to find constructive criticism in them, use it and learn from it."
But it didn't stop there. Hall then shared a video on social media making fun of his haters by spoofing the iconic Regina George (Rachel McAdams) burn book scene from the 2004 comedy "Mean Girls." In Hall's clip, he takes on the role as queen bee and uses the allegations against him.
@todrick The Gays: " You can't sit with us!" Me: