Angie Stone has not been having the best press as of late since filming TVOne’s reunion special of ‘R&B Divas: Atlanta’ due to her backhanded remarks towards cast mate Sylenna Johnson and the cheating scandal surrounding her manager/boyfriend Ashanti Grave.
Supposedly Stone walked off during the taping of the reunion when host Wendy Williams asked her questions regarding her relationship with Grave. She found out that Ashanti allegedly cheated on her with a staff member of the show and even claimed she had proof through text messages and cell phone records. This led to Ashanti’s dismissal as manager and a split after an 8-year courtship.
Angie’s rep, Kali Bowyer, told RumorFix, “[Angie Stone] walked away from the reality TV show R&B Divas: Atlanta due to the lack of professionalism on behalf of [the] production crew and she did not want to associate herself with that type of behaviour and tricks of the trade. She was to be the voice of reason brought on under false pretences and after speaking and consulting with [her] pastor and church, it was not something she choose to allow in her life.”
Ashanti was apparently having an affair with one of the crew members of R&B Divas: Atlanta and the messy situation came to a boiling point when Wendy Williams brought up the rumour that [Angie] and Ashanti had called it quits before the reunion. Angie, not one to air her dirty laundry, told RumorFix, “My personal relationships with — first my God — and any man is a private and respectful institution and will not be drug (sic) through the mud.”
Unfortunately for Angie, the nasty rumour appears to be true since her own rep called out the TV One employee for “crossing the line of professionalism … Pursuing a man who is in a committed relationship is disturbing on a multitude of levels.” However, an insider told Madame Noire that Angie is just using this one woman — whom Angie allegedly tried to physically attack at the reunion show — as a scapegoat for her boyfriend’s philandering ways.
“From what I hear, [Ashanti] has a few ‘friends.’ That’s the reality. Whether or not one of those friends was one of the people in our production crew, I don’t know. We’ve all heard and got wind of it. Everybody in the cast and crew knows,” said the insider. In addition, the source claims that while Angie says she has proof of the affair, she has yet to show it to the company and has since gone on to find new management with Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’s Deb Antney, aka Waka Flocka Flame’s mom.
It also appears Angie is done with Ashanti; on July 9 she tweeted, “Respect yourself enough to know to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy!” According to Angie’s rep, the reality TV star isn’t going to let this scandal rock who she is.
“Stone has been in this business for some 30 plus years, and will not allow anyone to attempt to tarnish her career or reputation, bottom line!” Kali told RumorFix.
Phil Thornton, executive producer of R&B Divas Atlanta, confirmed that Stone will no longer take part in the program.
“We had 2 great seasons of R&B Divas: Atlanta with Angie Stone. All good things must come to an end. I truly wish her the best with her future endeavours. God Bless.”
But as for her other claims of unprofessionalism and being misled about her role on the show, Thornton says that’s not true at all.
“Totally false! If things were that bad, Angie would have quit after her first season on show. I was the person who initially met with Angie about joining the show. We (production) always viewed Angie as the matriarch/big sister in the cast; that never changed. We have nothing but love and respect for Angie Stone.”
