‘Teen Mom 2’: Ashley Jones Talks Racism and Pressure of Being on a ‘Predominantly White Show’

Teen Mom 2 star Ashley Jones addressed a very serious topic on Tuesday night’s episode of the MTV series. At the top of the episode, Jones and her fiancé, Bar Smith, explained that they’ve been experiencing more racism after they voiced their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. This backlash caused Jones and Smith to discuss when they would have to address the subject of racism with their 3-year-old daughter Holly.

Jones and Smith spoke about the ignorant and hateful messages that they’ve been receiving on social media. While they have gotten negative messages on social media in the past, Jones said that it’s been taken to a new level ever since they spoke out in support of the Black Lives Movement. (Jones also specifically said that they started to receive more backlash on social media following the death of George Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin.) Even though they said that it’s hard to receive such messages, Jones shared that she does appreciate the platform that Teen Mom 2 has given her, noting that it’s essential to have representation on the show.

The couple later spoke about the issue with Jones’ mother, Tea, and stepfather, Ted. The newest Teen Mom 2 mom told her parents that this past year has been “the most racist time that I’ve ever experienced in my life.” During their conversation, Jonas opened up about the pressure that she’s under for being the only Black mother on the Teen Mom 2 cast. She explained, “I feel like because I’m the only Black mom on a predominantly white show, I don’t have no choice but to go hard, get an education, get all A’s, give my daughter everything she wants. I don’t have no room to slack. [sic]”

Elsewhere during the discussion, Jones took issue with the fact that her mother tried to shield her from racism when she was younger. Naturally, the conversation turned to how Jones and Smith would address the issue with their daughter. Smith, who is mixed-race, said that it will be a hard topic to address, but they will tackle it straight on for Holly. Later on, Jones told the camera that they’ll wait a bit longer to talk about racism with their daughter until she’s at an appropriate age. When they do tackle the topic, Jones will teach Holly about Black History so that she can learn about those that came before her. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS.