It was widely reported not too long ago that Fantasia Barrino had broken up a marriage by offering herself up to married father of two, Antuan Cook. Åfter a series of events, including a suicide attempt by the singer and a lawsuit filed by Fisher’s scorned then-wife, it was proven in court that Fisher and his wife were officially separated during his relationship with Fantasia. She was finally vindicated, after being skewered for months by the court of public opinion.
Now, the Grammy Award winner has turned up pregnant (just confirmed to a concert audience “she could relate to”) and photos of her romping on the beach with the source of her arguably undue public scrutiny, Cook, have surfaced. It implies that he’s the father.
This story has a very familiar ring to it, but it’s doubtful that the public response will be the same.
“You’re the first one’s I’ve shared this with … for I while I walked around thinking, ‘what will they say, what will they think of me …,’ ” she said. And her concern was probably warranted.
Alicia Keys was just in an identical situation, sans the lawsuit and the suicide attempt, but the judgment in her case was rather mild in comparison to what Fantasia will likely receive. You can almost hear the hailstorm of criticism coming. There are many reasons that this can be attributed to, but as to preserve her feelings in the event she finds herself reading this piece, we’ll blame it on classism.
Fantasia isn’t considered of the same ilk as Alicia Keys. Even though most logical folks would concede that they’ve both sold a million or more records and they’re both talented artists signed to J Records, their more obvious differences are what will likely lead to biased and divergent views. Keys fits the typical standard of beauty and appeals to more than just African Americans. She has a white mother and, unrelated, speaks with eloquence and carries herself in a way that wasn’t in the cards for Fantasia, having been raised in the “hood.” Alicia’s glossy finish and Fantasia’s gritty, down home swagger sets them worlds apart in terms of judgment (unless, of course, you ask the vengeful ex-wives gunning for both artists). We know it all too well: the less appreciated the class, the harsher the hypocritical criticism.
Beyond Alicia Keys, many celebs, some purposely and others just in the course of doing “business,” are having children out of wedlock under all sorts of sordid circumstances. But, the hotter the celeb (it’s paining me to not use the race or complexion card here, but I must stick with the apples to apples comparison), the more acceptable their questionable activities. Halle Berry, anyone?
What do you think? Will Fantasia get the pass from the public that others like Alicia Keys have gotten under similar circumstances? Leave a comment and take the poll.
–painfully aware
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