Sep 22 2009
Does Money Make Black Celebrities Crazy?
My new guilty pleasure show is Eddie Griffin’s new VH1 reality show, Going For Broke. In the show, Griffin is literally going broke- he spends far more than he makes and the premise of the show is about his economic hardships. No, he’s not applying for food stamps or in line for unemployment like people who have real economic hardships, but his money troubles irritate me more than mine or the average person’s. I know I shouldn’t care what Lebron or Ladamian do with their millions, but I do. Griffin and many other Black celebrities are blessed with talent and money and they just waste both, especially the money, far too often. By all means, buy your bouncing cars and champagne-but only when you can afford it.
I hope Griffin and other Black celebrities ( I’m singling out Black celebrities because when they lose money, it’s often worse than their White counterparts) have a Suze Orman -like financial advisor who helps them to save and invest wisely. I know Black celebrities often have little experience with windfalls of money, like the Honeymooners episode with Ralph and Alice fighting over money. Ralph said, ” You don’t know how to handle money. Alice responds: ” Of course I don’t. I never had any practice.” However, just reading money management books or asking other financially secure Black celebrities for help can help them keep their pimp cups and velvet posters of Scarface.
I know Eddie Griffin and other Black celebrities want to share the wealth once they make it, but not everyone in your entourage should always have a hand out begging for money. Like he realized in the first episode, if the friends don’t ” bring something to the table” and support themselves, give them tough love and let them fend for themselves. The ” baby mama” drama I won’t get into, but maybe eight kids are enough, Ed. In the second episode, there’s a potential new baby mama who at least has a real future in biochemistry instead of modeling, but as Griffin’s mother said, she’s a little young.
Griffin’s mother is the voice of reason in the show, the only one who gives him real advice he needs to hear. I hope Griffin listens to his mother more and saves his money, so he’ll have enough for his future and his childrens’ future, too.
