Bravo star Dr. Jackie Walters is clarifying resurfaced comments from 2020 about the higher rate of childbirth deaths among Black women where she said some “cry wolf the entire pregnancy,” causing them not to be taken seriously by doctors.
Married to Medicine star Dr. Jackie Walters (top-center) has been wading in hot water for three years, but after her controversial comments from 2020 about Black pregnant women resurfaced, per Deadline, she’s apologizing and clarifying her remarks.
In those remarks she said that sometimes Black pregnant women are “a bit more dramatic” and have a tendency to “cry wolf the entire pregnancy,” causing their doctors to not take their real symptoms seriously enough.
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“I’m taking a much-needed pause to address comments that I made during a 2020 live interview with one of my castmates,” said Walters in a new video post to her Instagram page, acknowledging Black women and mothers who were “hurt and feeling unsupported” because of her words.
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“I want you to know I hear you, I see you, I believe you, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Walters continued. “I am brokenhearted over this. The guilt and reality that I have hurt and offended people, especially Black women and some of my own patients, pains me to my core.”
Walters’ comments resurfaced following the latest episode of her show where Walters was seen in a Zoom conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledging that “Black women are three times more likely to die from childbirth in America.”
After Harris shared a snippet of their chat to her own Instagram, fans started revisiting Walters’ problematic statements from three years prior. It happened on a live broadcast on fellow cast-mate, Dr. Heavenly Kimes’ (top-left) podcast, Heavenly Help Us.
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Walters was trying to discuss her perception that Black women are not always completely honest with their doctors. “Sometimes as African-American women, we’re a bit more dramatic and that you go to the doctor and you complain and you complain and you complain and you’re not taken seriously because you cry wolf the entire pregnancy.”
She then doubled down, accusing some Black women of exaggerating their pregnancy issues to try and get some time off of work.
“As African-American women, we want to also make sure you’re being serious with your doctor and not playing the game so I can take you off work,” Walters said. “Because then, we see you 25 times in the pregnancy, it’s hard to believe that there’s a true problem when there’s a true problem.”
Now, looking back at her comments, Walters said she “used the wrong words and descriptions to properly convey my concerns regarding maternal mortality related to women of color. The fact is, we must do more because we are still dying more.”
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She did say that if given an opportunity to go back and rephrase her initial comments, she would instead suggest patients “keep a log of your concerns and symptoms so that you can provide them accurately to your physician.”
“Have a buddy system, someone who can advocate for you when you’re with a physician, especially when pregnant,” she continued. “Know that a second and third opinion is not just sometimes warranted but necessary.”
She concluded by thanking her fans for hearing her out, noting, “I’ve been shaken and moved to be better.”
Kimes quickly shared Walters’ apology video to her own page, captioning it, “That’s my dog!!! I knew she would make this right! We love you.”
Fellow cast-member Dr. Simone Whitmore (top-right) also weighed in, posting, “I know first hand, personally & professionally, Dr. Jackie is a great doctor. As Black female OBGYN’s, we are grateful when patients choose us and place their trust in us. Black mothers are dying 3 times more than any other ethnic group and we are working hard to fight these statistics.”
