Joseline addresses rumors about "Love & Hip Hop" being fake and her beef with Mona Scott-Young

On the latest episode of “Drink Champs,” N.O.R.E. had the pleasure of chatting with reality TV star Joseline Hernandez about her breakout in “Love & Hip Hop,” launching her own series “Joseline’s Cabaret” and much more.

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, Florida, Joseline made her first splash on the small screen as a main cast member on VH1’s reality series “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” in 2012. Her unfiltered personality and intricate storylines quickly made her a fan favorite.

Joseline’s music career took off with her time on the show. Tracks such as “Stingy With My Kutty Katt” and “Church” introduced fans to Hernandez’s musical talents. In 2017, she left “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” after six seasons and eventually aquired a partnership with We tv for a docu-series originally titled “Joseline Takes Miami.” Despite initial hiccups in production, Hernandez remained focused on establishing her own show. Her efforts paid off when she signed a deal with Zeus Network.

The fruits of this collaboration were seen when “Joseline’s Cabaret: Miami” premiered in January 2020. Most recently, Hernandez appeared in season two of “College Hill: Celebrity Edition” alongside the likes of Ray J, Amber Rose, and many more.

To help give fans a recap, REVOLT compiled a list of nine facts we learned from her “Drink Champs” conversation. Continue scrolling to read them and watch the full episode here.

1. On whether “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” was scripted

After being discovered by then-boyfriend and record producer Stevie J, Hernandez made her big breakthrough on “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.” The premiere, which clocked in 5.5 million views and served as one of the top reality series at the time, followed several notable figures in music such as Rasheeda, K. Michelle, Karlie Redd, and Lil Scrappy throughout their day-to-day. Although the series was later revealed to have scripted moments, Hernandez admitted that it wasn’t originally the case.

“The first season of ‘Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,’ I want to say that were doing their job, but then I want to say they had artists like me that were going to come and be themselves and push the limits. Everything I went through in ‘Love & Hip Hop’ was real,” she shared.

Hernandez added, “For example, I didn’t know my baby daddy had a whole woman at home… Mimi is really a great person but her mother was in the church really bad and so she really grew up just knowing that. When you grow up in a cult type of church, it’s easy for anybody to come and play games with you because Stevie is alright, but he’s not the greatest player.”

2. On her appearance in season two of “College Hill: Celebrity Edition” 

After a successful debut in 2022, BET+’s “College Hill: Celebrity Edition” returned to its regularly scheduled program earlier this month with a brand new cast. Taking place at Alabama State University, Hernandez is joined by Amber Rose, Iman Shumpert, Tiffany Pollard, and O’Ryan among others on the show. Although a seemingly unpleasant experience, she opened up about the show and sent a few slight jabs at her cast-mates. 

“I feel like that house was hating on me bad. The whole house. Let me tell you… I can really dress. Like, I got on a $1,500 dress just to come see you guys. I got a $7,000 purse, $2,000 shoes, a $150,000 chain; a $50,000 watch… They didn’t like that s**t, nobody liked that s**t. I was the last one on that bus and every time I went out there to get on the motherf**king bus, everybody sitting there like, ‘What she got on today?’” she stated. “ If I could just take out one person that was not feeling a certain type of way about me, it had to be Iman and Omarion’s brother, O’Ryan.”

3. On pitching “Joseline’s Cabaret” to Zeus

While discussing her many television roles, Hernandez reflected on her exciting journey of pitching “Joseline’s Cabaret” to Zeus Network CEO Lemuel Plummer. She opened up about her meticulous casting process, which included assembling a diverse group of dancers for the show set in G5ive Miami, a strip club where she once worked. Plus, the reality star revealed that WE tv originally funded the idea, but dropped it over concerns of the series being too X-rated.

“During the COVID, I had already to picked up for season one. Me and my fiancé had left the ‘Celebrity Bootcamp.’ We actually had just left that and I met the owner of Zeus at the hotel. What happened, WE tv had originally put it together for me… I had the idea and they put it together for me. They spent like $400,000 but they never picked it up, they thought it was too explicit,” Hernandez explained.

She went on to share, “Basically, the girls would send in their audition tapes and I was viewing the tapes and doing commentary. That’s how we kind of picked out the girls and then my producers would pick it out ‘cause I ain’t got time to go over 3,000 ladies. They nail it down for me to like 20 girls, and then I go in and I start working.”

4. On how “Love & Hip Hop” stunted her early career

Pivoting from the discussion about Zeus, Hernandez expressed that she believes “Love & Hip Hop” stunted her early career because of the lack of support among the cast members. Having been one of the youngest stars at the time, she described having to fight with older ones who were envious of her youth and success.

“I really feel like a lot of my beginning failure was contributed by ‘Love & Hip Hop’ because the people that’s on the show like let’s say the cast members, instead of supporting each other, they always throwing you down. You know me, I’m not a hater. I always give a b***h her props,” she revealed. “I used to have to fight them old b***hes all the time. Them old hoes used to be mad as f**k because I was young and I had some hot p***y and I was getting the money.”

5. On charging $100K per episode 

Regarding her salary, Hernandez disclosed that she charged $100,000 per episode. During her tenure on “Love & Hip Hop”, she was reportedly among the highest-paid cast members alongside the likes of Ray J, Yandy Smith Harris, Karlie Redd, and more. According to the actor, “The owner of these networks or labels, yeah they got Black people working under them just to do the dirty job, but they’re the ones giving the money.” She added, “I charge 100 thousand for an episode. So one episode might take three days to shoot but that cost 100 thousand for me.”

6. On her beef with “Love & Hip Hop” creator Mona Scott-Young 

Later in the interview, Hernandez didn’t mince words about her ongoing feud with “Love & Hip Hop” creator Mona Scott-Young. She described the producer as “not a good person,” citing jealousy as a primary characteristic and labeling her a “puppet.” Hernandez opened up recalled how she sought Scott-Young’s help and even “licked her big ‘ol nasty Black **s.”

“Mona is not a good person… I feel like with her, she’s just a jealous person. She don’t never really want to see nobody win because you have to remember Mona was not the best-looking thing walking around, she was a puppet. Always had that curly wig,” Hernandez stated. “I was so young when I first started doing ‘Love & Hip Hop,’ so it for me I was like, ‘Please Mona can you please help me.’ Like literally begged her, licked her big ‘ol nasty Black **s. I like Black **ses but they gotta be clean.”

Despite their differences, the reality star pointed out that she was willing to put her feelings to the side. “The b**ch know if she call me tonight, I’ma get on the phone. She can call me right now and I’ll pick up. She don’t even gotta go through too much, I got the same number,” the reality star continued. 

7. On her love of golden showers 

While delving into her unique sexual preferences, Hernandez candidly expressed her affinity for golden showers. She emphasized her enjoyment of the particular act, separate from any controversial associations, saying, “It’s an enjoyable amazing sexual thing. I’ve golden-showered plenty of pretty b***ches.” This specific topic commenced after she cleverly pivoted from a conversation about R. Kelly, ensuring to distinguish between her consensual experiences and his criminal acts.

“Y’all ain’t into pissing? I be telling Balistic, ‘Pee on me bae.’ Y’all don’t like golden showers? Well [R. Kelly] is in jail because [he] had sex with kids. Golden showers is golden showers,” she stated.

8. On her beef with fellow “Love & Hip Hop: Miami” star PreMadonna 

Hernandez and PreMadonna’s feud took centerstage during season three of “Love & Hip Hop: Miami” with the latter accusing Hernandez of body-shaming her, failing as an entrepreneur and musician, and allegedly abusing substances during her pregnancy. N.O.R.E. brought up allegations that Hernandez sent a pig to her address, to which she denied, stating: “I don’t know anything about her.”

“I know nothing about her, I swear to God. I’m from Fort Lauderdale. I never hung out with her, we never talked on the phone, we never did anything,” Hernandez pointed out. “You gotta ask her ‘cause look at her and look at me. There’s no connection.”

9. On her struggles with music and receiving backlash for it 

Much later in the interview, Hernandez began shedding tears after she opened up about the challenges she’s faced in pursuing her music career. While songs like 2022’s “Vegas” have reached newfound success on TikTok, the entrepreneur spoke about the feeling of being dismissed and shut out from the industry. As Hernandez revealed, her struggle for mainstream success as a musician has been a constant part of her life.

According to the reality TV star, “I think that trying to show people your talent can get really dreadful. It’s almost like maybe you don’t want to be here sometimes. It’s like you try so hard to give people what you know they need and it’s almost like they dismiss you and that can get really hurtful. It was plenty of times I was gonna give up but you know what? I didn’t because I was like, ‘I’m not going to give up on myself.’”

She continued, “Being an artist has literally been biting me in my a** since I was five. It was just a difficult situation. I’m already dealing with not having a father, and having a mother that’s not good at raising her children.”

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