#MTV fires Taylor Selfridge, pulls ‘Teen Mom’ special over past racist statements

Cory Wharton and Taylor Selfridge in a scene from “Teen Mom.”
MTV

The network announced Tuesday that it shelved Selfridge and boyfriend Cory Wharton’s special episode, “Teen Mom OG at Home: Cory & Taylor’s Baby Special,” because of offensive tweets.

“MTV pulled [the special] and is ending our relationship with Taylor Selfridge in light of her past racist statements on social media,” an MTV spokesperson told People. “MTV strongly condemns systemic racism and stands with those raising their voices against injustice.”

Selfridge, 26, originally appeared on “Are You the One?” in 2017 and “Ex on the Beach” in 2018, where she met Wharton, 29. He has appeared on “The Challenge” and “The Real World.” The couple, who welcomed their first child together in April, self-shot footage of the weeks leading up to the birth in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Blast, Selfridge’s past racist tweets include, “We have to greet everyone at work but sometimes I won’t greet the Black people because they scare me,” and “My uncle is dating an Asian. Aunt Ping please make me sushi.”

Selfridge and Wharton are the latest examples of TV networks purging cast members in light of the Black Lives Matter movement. This week, Bravo fired “Vanderpump Rules” stars Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni over past remarks and actions, particularly after it was revealed that Schroder and Doute allegedly called the police on former co-star Faith Stowers, who is black. MTV also severed their relationship with Dee Nguyen from “The Challenge” over offensive tweets relating to race.

Selfridge previously apologized for her remarks on a Season 8 of “Teen Mom,” saying, “At the time, because I was younger, I wasn’t thinking it was anything negative. I thought ‘Oh, this is funny’ or something like that, but it’s not. This happened a long time ago.”

She also reacted to MTV not airing her special on Instagram: “I made the decision last week to not film the next season of Teen Mom OG with Cory for the benefit of myself and my daughter. I don’t believe the reality TV lifestyle benefits me any further at this point in my life,” she wrote in a post to her 884,000 followers that has since been made private.

“Once again, I apologize for anyone I have hurt or offended in the past. I have addressed my mistakes many times on the network and I would like to move on and continue to be the best version of myself. My past does not define who I am today and I hope you guys can see the change. Please respect my decision to provide a normal, healthy life for my family.”

Hours before the special was supposed to air Wharton was promoting it on his Instagram page, People reports. “Tonight I had the pleasure of shooting a one hour special about the birth of my youngest daughter Mila Mae Wharton,” he wrote. “During a Worldwide pandemic, I had one of the happiest days of my life and now I get to share it with you guys,” he wrote on the social media platform.

Selfridge and Wharton have a Youtube Channel with more than 58,000 subscribers called “The Wharton Family,” where they document their lives raising their daughter and Wharton’s 3-year-old son Ryder, who he had with his ex Cheyenne Floyd, also of MTV fame.