Braxton Family Values star Tamar Braxton has spoken up about her recent hospitalization. The reality star was found unresponsive in her hotel room and taken to the hospital on July 16 in what was later revealed to be a suicide attempt.
Tamar rose to fame as an R&B singer in the late 1990s after appearing in the singing group The Braxtons, which was composed of her and her sisters. She has also released five albums as a solo artist. Her most recent single, Crazy Kind of Love, was released in March. Along with her singing career, Tamar has starred in several reality shows. She starred on Braxton Family Values with her siblings for six seasons and co-hosted the talk show The Real from 2013 to 2016. In 2019 she became the first Black contestant to win a season of Celebrity Big Brother.
The singer and talk show host addressed her fans and supporters in an Instagram post. She started by thanking her followers for the love and support they’ve shown. She explained how she had shared her brightest days and wanted to share her darkest days too: “I know that sharing with you what has been my darkest will be the light for any man or woman who is feeling the same defeat I felt just only a week ago.” Tamar described a desire, one she believes is reflected in many others, to achieve a certain stature in life where you have the freedom to shape it as you wish. Tamar wasn’t afforded this opportunity: “I was betrayed, taken advantage of, overworked, and underpaid,” Tamar explained. “I wrote a letter over 2 months ago asking to be freed from what I believed was excessive and unfair.”
The repeated requests Tamar put forth went ignored. She was continually pushed to portray an inauthentic persona—she felt that who she truly was failed to matter anymore. “It was witnessing the slow death of the woman I became, that discouraged my will to fight,” Tamar explained. “I felt like I was no longer living, I was existing for the purpose of a corporations gain and ratings, and that killed me.” This disconnect led Tamar deeper into the mental illness she was struggling with. She continued on to address how Black and brown people are exploited in the reality TV industry and show business at large. “My rise will not be in vain,” Tamar concluded. “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.”
Tamar has made a brave move speaking out about her experience. As she mentioned, many are often shamed into silence when they struggle with mental health issues. Her public experience, while frightening for many fans, may encourage others to seek treatment for their mental health. Tamar’s brief explanation of the racial bias she encountered may encourage others to push for a serious change in the entertainment industry. Campaigns for other TV shows have pushed for more diverse casting and the honest portrayal of more diverse stories and Tamar’s harrowing experience may add fuel to this fire for racial justice.
Source: Tamar Braxton
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