Masika Kalysha’s 2023 ‘Sharp Tank’ Interview Sparks Debate

Masika Kalysha’s viral August 2023 interview on The Sharp Tank has resurfaced, and social media users are having a heated debate about the reality TV star’s thoughts on the relationship dynamic between Black women and Black men in today’s society.

On Dec. 29, a social media user named @CoolHunta posted a clip of Masika’s heated interview with Sharp, breaking down the societal and historical factors that have contributed to the single-family household dilemma in the Black community. The star, 38, argued that the issue was connected to slavery.

“A lot of these girls weren’t raised right. A lot of them didn’t have their daddy’s around and a mom that was acting fucking crazy. And if you really think about it – where it comes from — Black people, we have only had f—king 70 years to do what white people have had centuries to do,” the Chicago native said during her interview with Sharp in August 2023. 

“We’ve only been free since the damn f—king ’50s, and the Black men were taken out of the home as slaves to make sure they couldn’t bond with their children. So, Black men abandoning their families comes from slavery.”

Doubling down on her theory, Masika urged for Black women and Black men to heal from their family trauma and come together to successfully break the “cycle” of single-family households and the rise of “soft” men and “masculine” women in the Black community, a stereotype that has sparked heated debates online over the last decade.

“We have to break it, but we can’t break it if we don’t know that it’s a cycle,” she added. “So, we’re now having women that were raised by women that were hurt by men that don’t have men, and the men weren’t in the home. The men were raised by women that didn’t have men, so the men act like bitches, and the bitches act like niggas, and then they come together, and they’re battling because a man wants this power and this respect. And then the woman wants to be taken care of, but now, she’s had to take care of herself, and he’s been raised by nothing but bitches in hair salons all his goddamn life. So, now, we got soft men that want respect, but they don’t know how to get it… not realizing you get respect by taking care of her – by being that male figure she never had.”

On Instagram, netizens reacted to Masika’s thoughts on The Sharp Tank.

@CoolHunta and several users strongly agreed with the former Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood star’s remarks. A few netizens wrote that it was important for Black women and Black men to go to therapy to fix their emotional wounds before stepping into a relationship to create a healthy household. One user argued that Masika’s advice could be applied to people who were born into broken two-parent households. The Instagram user named @alyjiselle claimed that these individuals could also bring “confusion and toxicity” into a relationship.

“Not all marriages are healthy, and the unhealthy ones set horrible examples for children who become adults who become daters,” she added. “People whose parents were unhealthily married bring a whole different kinda of baggage into relationships.” 

“Everybody that comes from those trauma-filled households and lifestyles should get therapy and mentally fix themselves so we won’t keep harming, hurting and clashing with each other! We gotta fix US! You gotta FIX you!”

“EVERYBODY DO YOUR OWN SHADOW WORK. HEAL YOURSELF.” 

“This is it. When I talk about men, my husband gets offended. He starts talking about women. I tell him it still comes back to the man. The man who abandoned his daughter, who was abandoned by his father.”

“We have to change the trend fast before it’s too late.”

A few naysayers did not agree with Masika’s point of view. One user penned that they were “tired” of hearing about the “soft” and “masculine” debate in the Black community and that it was a never-ending blame game. Several male users called out Masika for excluding single Black fathers from the conversation.

They noted that toxicity could also build in individuals who grew up without their mothers. Some Instagram users blamed feminism for the rise of “soft” Black men in today’s society and argued that the issue wasn’t connected to single-parent households.

“Never once do I see or hear anyone say I’m healing or I’ve healed or I’m taking accountability…. It’s always the finger pointing. Then in the comments, more finger pointing. YOU ONLY CAN GIVE YOUR EXPERIENCES and not put everybody in the same box. These are the most closed-minded forums in the history of social media.”

“Masculinity is dying out due to Feminism….”

“She forgot the part that women don’t know how to be women or even love a man as a woman should. American women think it’s soft to love or be expressive.”

“People forget that there are single fathers out there, too, forced to raise children alone.”

 

Watch Masika Kalysha’s full interview on The Sharp Tank below. Thoughts?

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