‘Basketball Wives’: OG Says Defamation Lawsuit With Evelyn Lozada is Still Ongoing
Basketball Wives stars Ogom “OG” Chijindu and Evelyn Lozada didn’t get along from the start. Lozada eventually sued OG for defamation after OG pointed out several racist comments Lozada made on air. OG countersued. And according to the former reality TV star, the lawsuit remains active, and OG says it’s because of Lozada’s antics to try and delay due process.
Evelyn Lozada sued OG for defamation
Fans began to call Lozada out for referring to OG as “ugly” and using an emoji of a monkey to describe her in one of her Instagram posts, and she also called OG a cockroach in Spanish to another co-star. She was accused of being a colorist and treating OG differently for being of a darker skin tone. Lozada also called OG “aggressive,” which OG and viewers pointed out as a term that is used to describe darker-skinned Black women.
Lozada denied the colorist claims by using noting her Afro-Latina heritage. She also apologized to another co-star, Cece Guiterrez, for using a racial slur against her. Lozada sued OG after OG posted social media messages about Lozada being a colorist.
TMZ reported that Lozada’s court documents revealed that she claimed she’s of Hispanic descent and “her 2 children are African and Hispanic descent.” She also noted that she’s the chairperson of her foundation that raises money for abused women and has raised thousands of dollars for the Sauti Yeti Center for African Women – which in turn “are actions of a person that is not racist.” Lozada claimed she lost money from endorsements over OG’s allegations, and that she also suffered emotional distress.
OG says Evelyn Lozada sued her to get her fired from the show
She joined the show in Season 7 and instantly clashed with Lozada. During a recent appearance on Reality With the King podcast, OG explained that it was typical for Lozada to haze newbies, but she refused to back down from her. She also alleged that producers and her co-stars set her up multiple times to be attacked by Lozada and co. but she always won the arguments, which was a surprise to all. After a while, she says Lozada refused to film with her when she realized she met her match in OG and pulled a move to try and have her fired.
“I received a lawsuit from my co-worker, and she sued me because she was making nasty racist statements, and I called her out on it. And then I got used, and then I got a restraining order that they tried to have issued against me that was ultimately dismissed,” she told Carlos King. “So that’s what started the catalyst of even more talks of them firing me.”
OG noted that she initially signed on for a five-year contract but began to complain to network executives about the way she was treated on the show. From there, she says there were calculated attempts to push her out, which included bad editing to make her appear as the aggressor.
Where things currently stand with the lawsuit
Unfortunately, OG says the lawsuit is still ongoing. She told King that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their court process has been delayed. OG also says Lozada has changed legal teams multiple times and refuses to appear in person, alleging she’s afraid of OG. They are now scheduled to go to court in 2024.
