After MTV pulled Taylor Selfridge and Cory Wharton’s Teen Mom baby special from its schedule Tuesday, the network confirmed that it had cut ties altogether with Selfridge due to racist tweets from her past. MTV said in a statement to PEOPLE that night that the self-shot special chronicling the birth of Wharton and Selfridge’s daughter Mila Mae in April had been pulled in the light of the Are You the One? alum’s offensive 2012 tweets.
“MTV pulled Teen Mom OG At Home: Cory & Taylor’s Baby Special from its Tuesday schedule and is ending our relationship with Taylor Selfridge in light of her past racist statements on social media,” an MTV spokesperson said Monday. “MTV strongly condemns systemic racism and stands with those raising their voices against injustice.”
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Selfridge, meanwhile, claimed she had decided to quit filming with MTV in a statement on Instagram, seemingly expressing frustration at how she was being punished. “As you guys know already our special didn’t air tonight. 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,” she wrote.
Selfridge added she didn’t believe the reality TV lifestyle “benefits me any further at this point in my life.” Seemingly addressing the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests against systemic racism and police brutality, she wrote, “With current events being what they are and reality tv being selective in who they apply rules to or what is considered acceptable behavior, I do not have any further respect.”
The Ex on the Beach alum apologized to anyone she had “hurt or offended in the past” then, adding, “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.” She concluded by asking her followers to respect her choice to provide a “normal, healthy life for my family.”
Selfridge has long been criticized for her past tweets and apologized to Wharton’s ex, Cheyenne Floyd, in Season 8 of Teen Mom OG. “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,” she said. “This happened a long time ago.”
