I gave my review on the Season Two opener but felt the need to express my disgust about the unprofessionalism given by a party planner hired by Sheree to plan a party for her. Mr. Anthony Shorter (didn't catch the name of his company) apparently didn't like being questioned by a client. Sheree calls him to ask how things were coming along and he immediately went into attack mode and HANGS UP ON HER! The entire time he was on his gay rant, she was very calm and professional, which is rare coming from Sheree. Even after he hangs up on her, Sheree remained a lady. I on the other hand was ready to call him back for her and promptly begin cussing his ass out.
Oh but it gets better! Later in the episode she goes to meet this punk. She’s still handling him in a professional manner. Then the incident on the phone was brought up and he immediately gets into ‘my-gay-alter-ego-Sheneneh’ role. I have to admit, Sheree might be a better woman than me because it took her a while to get unprofessional. He’s cussing at her, sticking his finger in her face, name calling and then the ultimate punk move: threatens physical violence on her! YES I SAID IT! This man was about to hit her! I sat there in disbelief! I could not believe I watched an ‘executive’ on national TV a) act like a ignorant unprofessional bastard b) cuss out a client and c) get to a point of almost hitting a woman.
Here’s what he had to say to sandrarose.com:
Hi Sandra,
I am reaching out trying to get the facts straight. First, I am not GAY! Married with children, and love P*SSY.
Second, I was never hired by Sheree or Bravo to do a party. This event was for the Atlanta Music Festival, and the producer’s ask me to modify the event to be included in an episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, entitled Sheree’s Divorce Party.
I also consider myself to be a professional with a long standing resume. But, unless you have work with Sheree or had any dealings with her you wouldn’t understand, where I am coming from.
Thank you,Anthony
First of all, the fact that he felt his sexuality needed to be addressed FIRST by claiming stakes of loving p*ssy, proves everyone’s doubt about his sexual orientation. LOL! Dude, you’re not the only gay man married with children so PUH-LEASE!
Secondly, and MOST importantly, regardless of who hired you or how difficult a client is YOU ARE THE BUSINESS! I don’t care if Sheree came in there and pissed in a corner, the client is still to be treated with respect, courtesy and professionalism! This man even stooped as low by calling her momma a bitch. WTF?!?!?
His example of professionalism promotes exactly the stereotype that’s plaguing black businesses. That they don’t produce good work and that they are all unprofessional. I was embarrassed and disgusted by his act of bafoonery. But I’m even more so offended and disgusted that this grown man was about to jump on a woman. I look forward to seeing this man go out of business. I also look forward to seeing how the Atlanta Music Festival handles this situation since above he mentions that he was hired by them and not Sheree or BravoTV.
So Mr. Shorter, if you’re punk ass is out there, I know you may think you’re a woman so the fight would have been up and up, BUT YOU’RE NOT. I know you may think you’re a professional as you stated above, BUT YOU’RE NOT. You’re an ignorant, improper, lax, unfitting, unsuitable, unethical, unworthy, dubious punk in an overpriced suit with an ephemeral future. Do all the businesses a favor and go walk into traffic!
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Very well said!!!!!! I sat on my living room couch last night and watched that segment in utter horror & total disbelief. As an up and coming event planner myself, I could not fathom even the thought of speaking to or treating a client that way. And on national television, too??? WOW. I'm still in shock. Last season, I wasn't particularly a fan of Sheree. But last night, I was Team Sheree all the way!!! This man should be completely black-listed from the industry.
ReplyDeleteAmen!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Very well said. I hope this man is blacklisted in ATL and never works in the industry again! No matter how much "attitude" a client projects you should never resort to screaming at them and berating them!! AND DON'T EVER THREATEN THEM!!! What was this guy thinking??? Anthony, you should've kept your composure, that's probably rule #1 of customer service or simply common sense. What kind of businessman is he? I still CANNOT BELIEVE how he acted, and after Andy Cohen questioned him about his behavior he still felt he didn't owe Sheree an apology. THE NERVE OF HIM!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat ever, Please yall know that yall would love to spack the Shi* out of I love me some Me Sharee. True be told respect goes both ways, no i dont believe Anthony was professional however, have you ever had to work for a she proclaimed "bitch"? I think both of them did a great disservice to Wonderful respectful,professional black people. there are two sides to every story and Oh yes I don't think he is no more a women then Sharee is a man! Lets be fair
ReplyDeleteCORRECTIONS: What ever, Please yall know that yall would love to smack the Shi* out of "I love me some Me because I am so beautiful Sharee. True be told respect goes both ways, no I dont believe Anthony was professional however, have you ever had to work for a self proclaimed "bitch"? I think both of them did a great disservice to Wonderful respectful,professional black people. There are two sides to every story and Oh yes I don't think he is no more pf a women then Sharee is a man! Lets be fair
ReplyDeleteI watched this with my 19 year old son who was sick in bed, (the only way I could get him to watch). We screamed out loud and watched this part of the show about 5 times dissecting their every move. I must give it to Sheree that she remembered the cameras were there and stayed composed as long as she did. But Anthony completely lost it. It was initially entertaining and then scary and then entertaining again. Anyone who missed this show is kicking themselves today. Must SEE TV.
ReplyDeleteI have to clear something up. Someone posted a comment on our wordpress.com page and they were offended by this blog. Here is their comment. Following his comment will be my response.
ReplyDelete____________________________________
Cocoa, Sandra, or whoever,
I’m so disappointed in this review. I was ON BOARD WITH YOU! I completely agree that Anthony’s interaction with Sheree was unprofessional. Of course, I am still curious to see what the ENTIRE exchange looked like without the Bravo cuts and edits. I’m just saying! Sheree can be a T-R-I-P and it is TV! Nevertheless, a professional can respectfully disagree with and even dismiss a client without EVER taking it to a place where they are cussing each other + family members (WTF?!) out.
However, the pervasive homophobic language in your piece is soooooooo disgusting, it completely eradicated the idea that you had any bit of sense quickly from my mind. *big sigh* Too bad.
What does his sexual orientation have to do with ANYTHING?! Ridiculous. You’re cheap shots reflect poorly on your credibility.
HERE IS MY RESPONSE to him and whoever else that may have been offended:
First let me say that my intentions were not to offend my gay brothers and sisters. So to the readers of this blog that were offended, I do apologize. But one thing I’m not is a homophobic.
All morning before this post, Mr. Shorter felt the need to bring up his sexuality IN EVERY SINGLE INTERVIEW I heard or read without whoever he was talking to ever mentioning it so since it was so important for him to defend that first, it was a part of the blog. He kept on bringing up his sexuality so I stated what I thought.
I’m homophobic because I think he’s gay? I’m confused. Ooohhh, is it because I used the word punk? If that’s the case, then you’re getting it wrong. He’s a punk because he’s arguing with a woman on the verge of hitting her. That’s what a ‘punk’ has been used for in my community FOREVER -a weak example of a man, someone who can’t fight or a man who fights a woman. Straight, gay, tall, short, black, white.. all can be punks. In this blog ‘punk’ is not synonomous with gay.
Mr. Shorter presented himself exactly how alot of gay men are stereotyped. Is it right? Of course not. What stereotype is?
As I re-read my post I guess ‘gay rant’ is a cheap shot…you’re right.
Outside of mentioning he was gay, the issue still stands about his unprofessionalism. I don’t think I’m any less credible for mentioning my other opinions about him. If he was short, then I would of said ‘that short punk bastard’. In this example, you could say his height has nothing to do with his lack of professionalism just like you say his sexuality has nothing to do with it. Does that mean I have an issue with short people? No.
I totally agree. Yes, Sheree is depicted as a b*tch on this show and she could have very well walked in there and acted a straight monkey but does all that really matter? At the end of the day SHE IS STILL THE CUSTOMER. Of course that age old phrase 'the customer is always right' is completely wrong, but it's still a phrase that has to be taken literally as business professionals. If she did play the 'b*tch' role the PROFESSIONAL would have let her go on her rant and calmly answered with 'I'm sorry you feel this way. My goal is to please our customers. Let's try to fix this' OR if she was too out of control he could of easily gracefully bowed out of doing business with her. "Mam, this belligerent behaviour is not acceptable. I can no longer continue this business relationship" ANYTHING but the way he reacted.
ReplyDeleteThen to add insult to injury all day he's not even big enough to apologize?!?!? He's more fixated on clearing up his sexuality and then being right. RIDICULOUS!
Sorry, but I cannot under any circumstances feel that Mr. Shorter was in any way correct in his behavior and anyone who defends him needs a reality check. How would you like to be treated that way by a business you utilized? I say that Sheree stayed calm longer than most would have and I wanted to join her in kicking his ass. What a complete asshole and such an embarassment to other black professionals and us as a people. When will we understand that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous@8/1/09 4:42pm - you are ABSOLUTELY correct! I keep hearing the arguments 'well this was edited and we didn't see the entire thing played out.. Sheree is a b*tch... Sheree is a difficult person.." blah, blah, blah. I don't care! It's actually TOTALLY IRRELEVANT! Sheree can be the Queen B, as a professional he was totally out of line. Period. He had a problem with just being questioned.. and that's a problem. He's also been saying that he feels because she wasn't a paying customer then she really doesn't deserve the same treatement. Huh?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteI've also been hearing that the whole scene was a set up. If that's the case then that's just as bad. Society's depiction of black businesses is negative. Why perpetuate this plague by getting on tv and act the way this fool did? The entire incident was just unprofessionalism at its best and embarrassing.
My husband and I watched the show on its Sunday evening repeat airing, and we have never seen anything like the altercation between Anthony Shorter and Sheree. Both of us have our own companies, and are responsible for the businesses, employees and serving our customers - and we could not believe how unprofessional Anthony Shorter was to his customer, while representing his company, and in front of his employees. Never, ever have we seen anything like it! I beleive that Sheree had valid questions, and although I don't entirely agree with her approach, I still believe that Sheree had the right to ask such questions. I could have never imagined that Anthony Shorter, who considers himself a "professional," would ever respond or conduct himself in such a depraved manner. He should pack it up, because his business is over. It's so sad, too, because it takes years to build a reputation and successful business (although I cannot find his business, his executive bio or his resume anywhere online). Hopefully Anthony Shorter went into hiding...as well he should, because his career is over. No one in their right mind would work with such a loser, nor allow them to handle their affairs or events. Unbelievable!!
ReplyDeleteobviously he didn't like being uestioned by a woman.
ReplyDeletebottom line sheree is the client and this is his business. i would never want to work with someone like this. his behavior was awful just awful
now mr. shorter is going on whatever he can to "spin" what happened.
I don't care about Anthony's sexuality. His behavior was UNACCEPTABLE. Besides cursing Sheree out, which was unprofessional. He took a REALLY violent attitude towards her.
ReplyDeleteThis guy needs to apologize. When its all said and done. This so-called man needs to apologize. A real man doesn't need to try to "check" anyone. And a professional, can communicate effectively to a client without it getting tense. Haven't you heard of memos?
DANG!!! I just watch the first episode of Season 2 and couldn't wait to see the exchange with Anthony and Sheree.
ReplyDeleteIt was horrible to see the exchange on national television. We as black folks have been sterotype of being unprofessional. That wasn't cool.
Now, as for Anthony if he wasn't happy with Sheree he could have removed himself and had his assistant work with Sheree if he wanted the business or just got rid of her as a client. However, he decided to be a "punk." Shame on him. He showed his "true" self; as an unprofessional business man. It will be hard for him to recover.
The lesson here is for every reaction there is a consequence.
Well said, well put! It was a disgrace and truly disgusting! Its a sad day in America with the state that we are in, especially some of our black men who are filled with such misplaced rage and anger. They are either in denial or dont have a clue with who and where they really are. Not good!
ReplyDeleteWhen I viewed the episode again, he really looked like he transformed quickly into a demonic force.
Anthony Shorter you are a PUNK BITCH!!!! And that has NOTHING to do with being gay!!! You should be banned from society!
ReplyDeleteso sad to see anyone, regardless of race, behave the way Anthony did. And then to not apologize to Sheree for his behavior is unbelievable. If he is married with children , he should have thought about them before he made a total fool out of himself on national TV.
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