Tamar Braxton warned network executives she was suicidal and blamed reality show producers of exploiting secrets about her personal life — that she was not ready to share — and in the weeks leading up to her hospitalization, she ‘considered ending’ her life.
According to the explosive letter, obtained by The Blast, Tamar responded to a message sent by executives for WeTV to employees — including Braxton — outlining the company’s efforts to support the black community.
In her response, sent on June 2, 2020, Tamar BLASTED the network comparing them to “cruel white slave masters who once chained our forefathers,” and blamed then for turning the Braxton family from a ‘once happy’ group to people who “fight with each other, betray each other, and now we’re physically assaulting each other.”
She continued, “All happening because your show has chosen to show the absolute worst side of a strong, independent, and successful African American family.”
In the email, Tamar said the “final stake into the heart of my family” came after “the day you dug up a secret I’d never shared with anyone, a secret I was so ashamed to talk about that I hid it even from my own mom: the fact that I had been assaulted and raped repeatedly from age 6 to age 16, sometimes multiple times a day.” She accused them of exposing it “on your show in front of my entire family and 100 crew members.”
Braxton told executives the experience made her suicidal, writing, “You broke me that day and I considered ending my own life then for the shame I felt!”
As we reported, just weeks later, Tamar was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after possibly attempting suicide after drinking and taking an unknown amount of prescription medication.
“I was so powerless and hurt I had to dig deep inside of me with every ounce of courage I had to tell Wendy Williams and 10 million viewers on national TV a secret I was not ready to tell, but had to tell before you exploited my story to the World and left another black viewer broken and suicidal like me.” Tamar wrote.
She added, “Like a true Slave Master you had taken away everything; even my right to choose!”
Tamar Braxton described the extreme pain she was experiencing at the time in her life, claiming she felt ‘suffocated’ and believed it was killing her.
“What makes me cry desperately inside, however, is the fact that you won’t leave me alone! I’ve been broken, I’ve been beaten, I’ve been raped, and I have been abused repeatedly as a child and as an adult; but of all those experiences, this is the most traumatic; the fact that I feel like I’m a Slave to you. I feel like I can’t breathe. Like you suffocate me. Like I need some oxygen. I feel like I can’t breathe and you are slowly killing me!” she said in the letter.
At one point, Tamar alleged she is paid “16 times less” than white television stars and says she was being forced to work under ‘slave-like’ conditions.
“Through all this it breaks my heart that with all we’ve lost, my family and I still get paid 16 times less than our white cohorts, many of whom we outrank with ratings!” she wrote. Adding, “And through it all we black females continue to work under slave-like conditions with contracts that are choking us to death.”
Braxton ended the brutal letter with this final shot, “Well, I hope those ratings were worth it because you succeeded in destroying a great black family.”
In the end, it appeared Tamar referenced her contract dispute with the network, and referenced George Floyd’s death, writing, “Well, I have news for you! Today, I take my power back. I will no longer tolerate being oppressed. I am asking you to break the chains NOW and LET ME GO I am suffocating! I CAN’T BREATHE!!”
WeTV has yet to respond to the allegations, but issued a statement regarding Tamar’s hospitalization, saying, “Tamar Braxton has been part of the WE tv family for nearly a decade. We are keeping her and her family in our thoughts and prayers and joining with her fans sending strength and healing at this difficult time.”
As we reported, Tamar is still hospitalized in Los Angeles, receiving treatment for a possible suicide attempt and ‘possible overdose.’
