(L-R): Claudia Jordan, Vivica A. Fox, Syleena Johnson, and LisaRaye McCoy of Cocktails With Queens during final episode
*It’s the end of the road for “Cocktails with Queens.”
After 150 episodes, the virtual Fox Soul show with Claudia Jordan, Vivica A. Fox, Syleena Johnson, and LisaRaye McCoy co-hosting from their own homes aired its final episode on Monday, June 12. The ladies toasted their journey with cocktails, of course, and took a trip down memory lane discussing the show’s evolution since launching in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we first started, it was just a pandemic something to get us dressed up and do something different on Mondays,” LisaRaye explained. “We didn’t have great lighting, then cut to — they tried to bring all the lighting in the world to our houses and we were like, ‘wait a minute, this is not a studio!’”
Syleena said the show tried to spotlight important issues in the Black community, and urged viewers “to continue to advocate for each other, for Black shows, and Black women.”
LisaRaye remarked on how the experience deepened their collective friendship over the past three years. “It’s much closer than when we began and just knew each other from afar,” she said.
Claudia got emotional while reading a comment on their live YouTube stream that said “Cocktails With Queens” helped them get through “a dark space during the pandemic.”
“That’s why I’m emotional right now,” Claudia said. “I want y’all to know this is not something we’re choosing. We don’t want this to end.”
Watch below:
Urban Hollywood 411 reported last week that Fox Soul was retooling its lineup under new management, and “Cocktails With Queens” would be cancelled along with “The Black Report,” while Claudia’s other show, “Tea-G-I-F” with co-hosts Funky Dineva and Al Reynolds, would expand to five nights a week. This led to folks in the comments blaming Claudia for the cancellation of “Cocktails,” which she also addressed.
“This has nothing to do with “Tea-G-I-F,” because I made it very clear that I can do both shows,” she explained. “Times are changing right now… it’s just kind of the condition of the industry.”
She thanked Fox Soul for the opportunity, but said she hopes that a TV network will pick up the program.
“This show is too important,” Claudia said. “We were the last panel show with four Black women. There’s nothing else out there and it breaks my heart because we have so many male voices out there, and at a time when Black women feel like we’re being less and less heard, another one bites the dust.”
In closing, Vivica gave love to all of her “Queens With Cocktails” co-hosts. She said Claudia “planted the seed” for the panel show, and “helped to bless us with over 150 episodes. You filled all of our pockets [with money]. I thank you, Queen. I thank you LisaRaye for being here. I had to talk your ass into it, but I thank you for showing up. Syleena… I love you. I appreciate your voice. I appreciate your magic and your honesty. Like Syleena said, ‘Don’t y’all forget about us.’”
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