'Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta' Fires Erica Mena for Calling Castmate Spice a Racial Slur

The TV franchise announced the news on social media Saturday

Erica Mena will not be returning to Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta after she recently called her costar Spice a racial slur.

The TV franchise announced the news on Saturday in an official statement on Instagram and Twitter (now known as X). “The Love & Hip Hop franchise has never shied away from hard conversations in our community,” the statement began.

“Working hand-in-hand with our partners, viewers will see the impact of Erica Mena’s remarks play out in the final three episodes of the season,” the statement continued. “Effective immediately, she will not appear in the next season of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.”

Related: 'Love & Hip Hop' 's Erica Mena and Safaree Samuels Divorcing After Less Than 2 Years of Marriage: Reports

Representatives for both Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and Mena did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, while a rep for Spice could not be reached.

During the episode which aired on Aug. 29, Mena and Spice, born Grace Latoya Hamilton, were engaged in a heated argument that escalated when the 35-year-old actress flipped the table and the two women had to be separated by producers.

The explosive fight stemmed from a discussion about Mena’s divorce from ex Safaree Samuels, with whom she shares daughter Safire, 3, and son Legend, 2.

The two continued to exchange blows, with Spice, 41, shouting that her 16-year-old son King, whom she shares with ex Raul Conde, “hates” her. In response, Mena yelled, “You monkey, you f------ blue monkey!” Earlier in the episode, Mena said that Spice, who sports blue hair, “should have died.”

Related: 'Love & Hip Hop' 's Erica Mena Shares First Photos of Daughter Safire's Face: 'Best Part of 2020'

After footage of their altercation went viral, Spice addressed the incident in a since-deleted Instagram post that showed Mena involved in two separate discussions with costars Lil Scrappy and Stevie J when talking about her children.

“Kids are off limits right??????? But I guess it’s only when I ask cause where’s the same energy when Scrappy and Stevie J talked about it,” Spice wrote, per Vibe. “But now I’m a monkey and should have died on the table? Ok, Erica.”

According to Forbes, Mena has previously used the racial slur to insult former Love & Hip Hop: New York costar Jhonni Blaze, as well as several promoters in 2015 by calling them “Black monkeys.”

After starring in the franchise’s original New York installment, Mena joined the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast for its seventh season in 2018 before becoming a series regular in 2020.

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Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on MTV.

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