MadameNoire
Source: Bravo / Bravo TV
In a recent interview, The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Falynn Guobadia opened up about the racial slur fellow castmate LaToya Ali allegedly called her during the former’s infamous Halloween party this season and also discussed how that contributed to her explosive behavior during the event.
If you didn’t know, Falynn is a woman of mixed heritage, with her mother being from Thailand and her father being from Cape Verde. That being noted, the RHOA star recently mentioned that her Halloween party played out pretty accurately for viewers when the event aired a few weeks back — except for moments she claims were cut from the episode when LaToya allegedly referred to her as “ching chong.”
“It’s all very real,” Falynn explained regarding the tension between her and LaToya during the interview. Speaking on how their dynamic has played out in the season so far and referencing the distasteful comment LaToya made about her looking like the type of women who “dates older men with money,” she continued, “From what you all saw, mostly, that is exactly how it had happened. From the very first moment I was introduced to everyone and I met everybody at Porsha’s Black Lives Matter event, I sat down and that’s what she threw at me,” she said of LaToya’s initial behavior.
“And then fast forward to — I mean we had a couple of incidents in between,” Falynn noted, “but then fast forward to my Halloween party. That was exactly what you guys saw. The only thing you did not see was when she called me ‘ching chong’ on multiple occasions. And I think someone told me recently that she went on [Instagram] Live stating that wasn’t true but you know — everyone heard it, all the cast members, everyone was there.”
As per NPR, the phrase “ching chong” has been “hurled as an insult at Asian folks in the U.S. [stretching] back all the way to the 19th Century.” As the outlet explained, its usage in song, texts, and even children’s nursery rhymes all share the term’s deeper roots which are embedded in anti-Asian and “yellow-peril” sentiments that plagued the 1800s.
“She did actually call me ching chong,” Falynn later added in the interview. “And that’s actually what made me react in the way I did.” Discussing how she felt LaToya’s usage of the slur was just another way of disrespecting her in her own home and her family, she continued, “Because you’re not going to call me — you’re not going to talk to me like that. You know, all of my children are Asian as well. You’re not going to talk to me like that in my home — you’re already disrespectful, and I let it slide a few times. I don’t know of any woman who would have been put in my position [and] would have let that down. So yeah, it’s all very real,” she said again on all the drama.
“I don’t choose violence,” Falynn clarified with a smile and slight laugh before the end of the video, “but you’re not gonna sit here and think that you can punk me either. That’s what’s not gonna happen.”
If you recall, this isn’t the first time LaToya has been caught up for saying derogatory comments. Even though this instance is alleged since RHOA’s production didn’t air any footage of her actually saying the slur, just a few months ago the Canadian Youtuber had somewhat of a scandal when a resurfaced clip made its way around the internet of her referring to an ex-best friend of a darker skin tone as a woman who was “ghetto” with “huge donkey kong lips.” Even though LaToya apologized for her comment and emphasized that the clip was taken from a video she had made seven years ago, Falynn had been one of her castmates who had chosen to publicly call her out.
Relatedly, LaToya isn’t on the best terms with many of her other co-stars either. While fans have been waiting for the RHOA reunion to go down so that we can get some answers on all of the drama and juiciness that’s happened this season, let’s hope we also see LaToya addressing what Falynn had to say about the Halloween party too.
