Essence: Tameka & Usher Need to Stop With "Telling All"

Last night Tameka Raymond, former wife of pop superstar Usher, appeared in her first TV interview, part one of a three-part series on Entertainment Tonight in which she discusses her marriage to Usher and the custody battle over their two children. So there’s no misunderstanding, Tameka explained that her appearance was a direct result of her ex-husband’s interview on Oprah’s Next Chapter, which “surprised her” and left her “in shock.”

So there she was on ET, sitting in the house she once shared with her husband, and I was watching, kind of baffled. I’d expected her to respond immediately, because she often defends her name loudly, but then she didn’t. And I was kind of proud that she learned her lesson — either that or she realized Usher had thrown himself so far under the bus in the OWN interview that there was nothing left for her to say. I mean, he didn’t answer any direct questions, confessed to sleeping with one of Tameka’s bridesmaids, and consistently offered a revisionist history of his world to make himself look better. By most accounts, Usher came off bad, real bad, and a lot of people felt more sympathy for Tameka.

I’m going to chalk up this ET interview, a bad decision, to Tameka’s grieving — her son Kile died in July, and earlier this month, a judge awarded Usher primary physical custody of the two sons she shares with him. That’s the only valid excuse I can think of for her doing this rebuttal. But Tameka was clearly offended, claiming her ex had “gone for the jugular.” So perhaps there were subliminal shots fired that we, the audience, missed, and Tameka took as an affront… which leads us to her appearance on ET.

Tameka said she hadn’t known for sure that Usher cheated with her bridesmaid until he confirmed it to Oprah, but she had always suspected it. Still, she didn’t blame her friend, one who had once driven her to the hospital while she was in labor. She blames Usher entirely, citing her friend’s vulnerability and Usher’s charm. The clawing for her ex wasn’t necessary and the dismissal of her girl’s wrongdoing just didn’t make any sense.

But that was pretty minor, compared to another part of the interview.

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