Five years ago, a woman dressed like Sensational Queen Sherri from the pro-wrestling world was introduced to me as Joseline Hernandez, the self-professed Puerto Rican Princess and then-sidepiece of the legendary producer Stevie J.
Joseline had dreams of becoming a rap star, and while she was one of the biggest messes I had ever seen on reality television (a feat even in 2012), I, along with so many others, rooted for her. She was a train wreck and not particularly nice to most of her co-workers on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, but you wanted to root for her all the same. She was born into chaos and, as we came to learn, mistreated by her parents. Although Stevie J appeared to be nothing more than another manipulative older man exploiting a younger woman stewing in brokenness, maybe, just maybe, Joseline’s charm and magnetic personality might help her turn her life around, and the platform afforded to her would give her the life she deserved.
Unfortunately, as it stands now, Joseline is an artist who never broke out in a big way, and after a series of public outbursts aimed at Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta’s executive producer, Mona Scott Young, Joseline seems destined to be booted off a hit TV show, only to resurface later on a future episode of Unsung: Hollywood. Or The First 48.
This could go many ways.
On the season finale of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, a video created by the production team featured various clips of Joseline barking at producers, refusing to answer questions and, overall, just being too difficult to work with.
The video itself was accompanied by these tidbits:
As production wrapped on season 6, Joseline became increasingly uncooperative. Joseline refused to answer interview questions or show up for scenes. And production was forced to work around her. After learning that Stevie J stood her up, Joseline would not allow production to film her in New York. Her appearance on The Wendy Williams Show was canceled.
Unfortunately, we do not know whether or not Joseline will show up to sit on the stage with her castmates for reunion.
If production is considering firing a cast member, this is a very nice way of setting up said cast member’s departure.
Of course, Joseline will likely maintain that she quit the show. After all, she took to Instagram to say she was finished with the show and to accuse Mona of taking advantage of her. Joseline even said that she wanted to talk to Oprah in order to “expose her.”
I love you, Puerto Rican Princess, but while Gayle King may know who you are, I doubt Oprah does. Once Oprah figures out what a Joseline Hernandez is, and that it wants to speak with her, she’ll probably just let out a hearty chuckle as she goes back to tending the turnip greens she’s growing in her garden.
And because Joseline doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone, she’s since started taking shots at others who have defended Mona—including K. Michelle. Joseline, why would you go to battle with someone who is no less combative than you, except she swings from a state of sobriety?
In any event, during an appearance on Atlanta’s V-103, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes was asked if she had any advice to offer Joseline. “You cannot fight these networks. They are way bigger than you,” NeNe explained.
She went on:
You need to fight it behind closed doors and in private. These networks can do a lot of things. They can really hurt your future career. So, my advice would be to never do that. Go into a meeting with your team and your network and work it out behind closed doors.
Joseline is not about to listen to any of this, but even if she did, it’s likely already too late, and that’s what makes me so sad for her now that she is being dropped through a trap door by the network and production. The only sadder part about Joseline’s likely end on the show is that she has more or less wasted her shot. Whenever I look at Cardi B’s success as a rapper—complete with glowing profiles, a major record label deal, touring and a bevy of bops in her catalog—I think about what could have been for Joseline.
“Stingy With My Kutty Kat” was all right, but how sad is it that Momma Dee has managed to drop more popular songs than the Puerto Rican Princess? That is no shade to Momma Dee. Momma Dee just has more focus and creative vision than Joseline. Karlie Redd has released better songs, too. Don’t any of you dare try to come for “Louis Prada Gucci,” either.
In my mind, Joseline Hernandez was supposed to be like a bilingual Trina. Moreover, because she is so animated a character, she could have found a lane as some hood version of Charo. Where exactly would such a lane fit? I don’t know, but if people who haven’t been on TV since 1994 can keep working on these black movies that randomly show up on Netflix or at a Redbox location near a hood McDonald’s, surely Joseline could have scored some acting work, too.
After all, wasn’t that part of the storyline on Stevie and Joseline’s old spinoff? Sadly, no one is going to work with a woman who looks like she’s ready to dive nose-first into that Rick James and then slap you up like Rick James. So, personally, I am quite devastated by how Joseline’s run on Love & Hip Hop has turned out.
I’m not sure what happens to Joseline in a post-L&HH world. Does she go to WeTV for Marriage Bootcamp with some other fallen Atlanta star like Matt from The Real Housewives of Atlanta? I’m sure a bunch of folks will say she can go back to The Real, but as entertaining as she was onstage, the chaos backstage may prevent another invitation.
Of course, there is Iyanla Vanzant, who specializes in disasters like Joseline. Maybe Iyanla can help her heal, but I’m not that confident. If anything, Joseline and Iyanla will end up squaring up, and somewhere, all of the production crew at Monami/Eastern will be like, “We told y’all so.”