If you ask Candiace Dillard Bassett why she’s being singled out for her verbal tirades against her co-stars which are viewed as going far below the belt, The Real Housewives of Potomac star will tell you it’s due to colorism. Midway through the season, Dillard made her belief known that she feels she’s a victim of colorism. 

The idea was further explored during a conversation about her verbal abuse targeting her co-stars, which led Dillard to tell Ashley Darby that Darby has been equally guilty but not slammed as much due to her having lighter skin. Wendy Osefo agreed that there’s colorism within the group, which Darby and others deny. The reaction on social media was split.

Ashley Darby and Candiace Dillard Bassett disagree on colorism issue

Dillard says fans react more harshly to her going off on her co-stars because of stereotypical perceptions of darker-skinned Black women being viewed as more aggressive. She says all of her castmates are equally vicious and believes colorism is the reason she’s singled out. 

Dillard says her co-stars are as aggressive in their reactions and have also been perpetrators of saying things that could be deemed offensive. When asked about her body-shaming Darby by calling her “wide-bodied” after Darby gave birth, she references Darby referring to her hair as dry. Darby shoots back, noting that both are Black women with similar hair textures. 

 

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“We get dry hair,” Darby said.

Dillard shot back. “You have a privilege being a lighter-skinned woman with a looser curl.” 

Osefo asked whether or not Darby feels colorism exists within the group, to which Darby replied no. when asked how Darby could believe colorism exists within society but not within the group, Darby replied that she hasn’t seen any example exhibited amongst the cast.

Fans are split on whether or not colorism is a problem in the group

The reaction on social media was a mixture. Some don’t see colorism as an issue, others do, and then there are those who feel that colorism exists but Dillard is using the idea as a deflection method to once again not accept accountability. Some say Dillard is full of it.

Some argue that Dillard is the wrong messenger.

Others say Darby and those who aren’t “affected” by colorism lack understanding.

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