Carlos King Has Crossed the Line

Alas, after 12 seasons, the woman partially responsible for dismantling the marriage between Martel Holt and Melody Shari Roger's is finally getting her 15 minutes of fame. By now, Love & Marriage: Huntsville fans have seen the explosive trailer featuring the much-talked-about Arionne Curry. She’ll appear as Holt’s love interest, finally moving from the shadows into a shared confessional. 

It’s been a long road. Holt and Curry have been discussed since the show’s inception. Realistically, it makes sense for her to appear on the show, considering she is his “leading lady” now. But this serves as the ultimate betrayal to Rogers. It’s a slap in her face on both a personal and professional level.

King lauds himself as the EP and creator of the show. While he had a hand in bringing the show to life, LAMH is the brainchild of Rogers. She initially pitched the idea to King after paying for a consultation with the self-proclaimed king of reality television. Holt and Rogers wanted to do an HGTV-style home renovation show. Knowing that ensemble shows centering on couples and friend groups had a stronger chance of getting picked up, King reworked the idea, suggesting the show follow three successful couples in Huntsville in various stages of life and love, with real estate as a background theme. Thus, LAMH was born. 

Obviously, Holt and Rogers’ marital drama surrounding his ongoing affair with Curry took center stage. After their divorce and the subsequent drama that followed on and off camera, Rogers exited the show. 

Rogers has alluded to producers trying to get Curry to appear on the show previously, but of course, she put a strong stop to it. During the Season 3 reunion, she sat by as King questioned Holt about whether he would have chosen Curry over her if he'd met his mistress first. With Rogers gone, Curry has entered the fold on the very platform she created, pushing the knife even further in back and twisting it mercilessly. King should be ashamed.

King publicly shared a private conversation he had with Rogers after the show was greenlit, she  wanted to renege when she learned Holt’s affair was not over. King explained that he promised Roger's that he’d protect her and make the show worth doing. If this is what protection looks like, I’ll pass.

King’s drive to produce scandal-filled television and increase ratings doesn't always align morally. Yes, drama is what sells, but at what expense? Some of his decisions have been questioned by those who trusted him to tell their stories, some of whom once considered him a close friend and confidant. 

Years ago, Kandi Burruss and her family had a close relationship and business partnership with King. Not only did King work as a producer on RHOA for nine seasons, but he also worked as a co-creator and producer on separate reality shows with Burruss’ then-husband, Todd Tucker. Things eventually soured, and Burruss would later allege that King tried to produce a biopic based on her group Xscape without her knowledge or involvement. He even allegedly went as far as trying to get her mother, Mama Joyce, involved. King has taken the “high road” and opted out of defending himself publicly, but says he’s open to having a conversation with Burruss privately, even inviting her to his YouTube show.

Former Love & Marriage: D.C. star Monique Samuels said King begged to work with her after she left The Real Housewives of Potomac. After a few years, she claims she finally gave in, under the guise that she’d be treated better within a King-produced project. Samuels learned the hard way. 

According to her, she was treated worse than she was treated during her time on Bravo. Samuels alleged she was edited to look like the stereotypical angry Black woman, while her then-husband Chris Samuels was painted as a good Black man with an ungrateful wife. She exited the show after one season and filed for divorce a year later. Samuels would later reveal in her memoir that her marriage was riddled with emotional and financial abuse, and even turned physical at one point.

Sophia “So Gucci” Williams and Aikisha Colon, formerly of Belle Collective, have also shared their grievances about working on a King-produced show, claiming dramatic narratives were pushed, and plots centered on destroying their marriages were favored. Things got so bad that Colon quit the show while being interviewed on King’s podcast. For Colon, that was seemingly her payback. 

King now hosts weekly podcasts on his YouTube channel, does live tours, and has landed some sought-after interviews with reality stars. He’s slowly made the transition from behind the camera to being actual talent. One of his favorite things to remind viewers is that being a reality star is no easy feat, and not something he would ever personally do, as he doesn’t care to share his personal life. Exploiting others’ highs and lows, however, he can manage. It also seems he does enjoy the spotlight and desires some level of fame and public admiration, which contradicts what he has vowed to not do.

At some point, Rogers will speak candidly about how this all feels. Until then, she has to watch the house she built be torn down again. Love her or hate her, you have to feel for her. The show she created has continued in her absence, and now with the woman who contributed to the demise of her marriage involved. Meanwhile, King has produced two spinoffs of LAMH (one in Detroit and another in D.C.) without giving Rogers proper credit or financial compensation. That’s what the kids call "nasty work". 

The entertainment industry is a business first. One can say King shouldn’t be faulted for doing what’s good for his business. The Kingdom Reign empire is expanding, with multiple shows across various networks. But his personal relationships have seemingly suffered, along with his reputation for trustworthiness.