Dear Mr. Wilmer Valderrama

An open letter to the host of MTV’s celebration of bigotry.

By Mark Pike, American Progress

Dear Mr. Wilmer Valderrama,

Congrats on making Yo Momma the hit #3 television show in MTV’s lineup! I’ve been a huge fan of your show ever since I stumbled across it on Mother’s Day when I was looking for a new episode of Date My Mom. And, no, I don’t have an Oedipus complex.

There’s one thing that bothers me about Yo Momma (the show, not your maternal unit): some of the things the contestants say are really offensive. Sure, part of the game is hurling the most unique, cutting, and sometimes degrading insults they could possibly imagine, as is the format when “playing the dozens” (a term which is deeply rooted in the lexicon of slave auctions). But what if the show took a different approach and all the contestants attempted to smother the other’s mother with kindness?

Instead of “your mother is so fat, her blood type is Ragu” (which, according to the American Medical Association is not medically possible), how about a gentler approach? “Your mother is sooo well-rounded, and I’m not talking about her body type. She genuinely has a wealth of skills and knowledge. I respect her a lot.”

But, hey, mean is one thing, but I really don’t understand why you giggle as the contestants frequently resort to the types of racist jokes that haven’t really been considered socially acceptable since the days of Jim Crow laws and blackface comedians? Instead of, “your mother is so black, they use her bath water to dye bowling balls,” how about “your mother has a deep respect for African-American heritage and she even celebrates Black History month not just in February, which is the shortest month of the year, but every other month, because there is so much to learn about and love.”

When you laugh, and even pay $1,000 “cash money” in response to these insults, it gives the impression that you are actively endorsing, promoting, and reinforcing stereotypes. It’s irresponsible to host a show where you objectively score participants on the efficacy and creativity with which they recreate and reinforce the old, vicious social construct: the whiter, the better. There are jokes about kinky hair, “black” facial features, and, over and over, the darkness of a contestant’s mom’s skin.

Didn’t you just get the creeps a little tiny bit when, in a recent episode, a white guy named Bruno, who eventually won that episode, joked: “Yo momma’s so black…somebody tried to shoot her at night and the bullets came back saying ‘we can’t find the bitch’?"

Sometimes, contestants stray from the prescribed format of the show, which I thought was limited to their opponent’s moms. I was kind of confused when, out of nowhere, a contestant turned to another and said “You look like a Mexican lemonhead.” This part of the show wasn’t nearly as focused and entertaining as I thought it could be. How bout, “You appear Hispanic, and would therefore probably be interested in learning more about the civil rights and liberties that are currently being eroded by the Bush Administration’s policies towards immigrants.” This impromptu dialogue about important issues could have been highly informative, and could surprise you with even better TV ratings!

Also, part of the show revolves around paying a visit to the finalist’s house where you’re allowed to collect “ammo” to use against your sworn enemy. Topics range from personal hygiene to poverty and even sexual orientation. Instead of “you and your mom are so poor, you went to the post office looking for food stamps,” how about “I recognize the financial hardship that your family endures, and understand that this is no laughing matter?”

I would think that, as a Venezuelan immigrant who has truly lived the American Dream (and, no, you perv, I am not referring to your alleged dalliances with Lindsay Lohan, Mandy Moore, etc.), you would be more sensitive to how these important social issues are portrayed in the television medium.

Didn’t Yo Momma raise you better than this?

Sincerely,
Mark Pike

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