Tamar Braxton and WE tv have cut ties, days after her suicide attempt, and her public complaints about the network, which airs Braxton Family Values and the upcoming Get Ya Life! In her first public remarks since she was hospitalized on July 16, Braxton said she felt like the network was taking advantage of her and she was “overworked and underpaid.” Braxton will still be seen in Braxton Family Values Season 7 and the already filmed episodes of Get Ya Life! are scheduled to air this fall.
WE tv plans to “work” with Braxon’s representatives to “honor her request to end all future work for the network,” according to a statement obtained by Variety Friday. Sources told the outlet she will still appear in a few episodes of Braxton Family Values that were filmed before the singer was hospitalized. She also completed six episodes of Get Ya Life!, which will begin airing on Sept. 10. The new show was scheduled to air this week, but the premiere was postponed.
“Tamar Braxton has been an important part of our network family for more than a decade,” WE tv’s statement continued. “As she focuses on her health and recovery at what is clearly a difficult and personal time, we will work with her representatives to honor her request to end all future work for the network. We wish her nothing but the best.”
Braxton was rushed to the hospital on the night of July 16, when her boyfriend, David Adefeso, found her “unresponsive” at her home at the Ritz Carlton Residencies in Los Angeles. Adefeso told the 911 dispatcher Braxton was drinking and took prescription pills earlier. In an apparent suicide note written to family members obtained by The Blast, Braxton allegedly called herself a “slave” and felt she did not “own my life.” Braxton reportedly wrote, “I’ve asked my massa to free me. I’m threatened and punished for it. The only way I see out is death. I will choose that before I continue to love [SIC] like this. Please help me.”
Braxton, 43, broke her silence on Thursday in a new Instagram post, thanking her fans for their support. Braxton said she wrote a letter to WE tv two months ago, asking to be released from her “excessive and unfair” contract, but was ignored. She also explained why there needs to be a union for reality television stars and vowed to help establish one. “I will make it my mission to establish the initiative that fights for ethical business practices in reality TV, fights for the ownership of our businesses, promote growth and evolution, of our stories, and gives us 100% equity in our freedom,” Braxton wrote. “My love for my support system and everyone who chose to love me when I no longer loved myself, is infinite and I am forever grateful.”
If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.