‘Married to Medicine’ Star Dr. Jackie Addressess Backlash Following Comments Made Claiming Black Women ‘Cry Wolf’ During Pregnancy
"Married to Medicine" star Dr. Jackie Walters is speaking out following controversial comments she made in a newly resurfaced clip from three years ago. Well, now the clip is garnering intense backlash from fans of the show.
Earlier this week, a clip resurfaced from a YouTube Live Stream in 2020 that shows Dr. Jackie along with castmate Dr. Heavenly Kimes for a Q&A session on women's health. During that conversation, she said pregnant Black women "cry wolf," which she believes prevents them from receiving adequate health care, as reported by Page Six. On Thursday (Dec. 21), she addressed that comment in her Instagram story.
"Recently, a clip from a nearly 2 hour video was taken out of context to make it appear that I, somehow, take lightly, what I have advocated for concerning the devastating problem facing the Black maternal health crisis," she said in the post.
"It has been my life's work to highlight and attempt to rectify the issues that devastatingly impact Black maternal mothers versus our counterparts. As a physician, I educate my patients every day to be their own best health advocate. As we continue to face medical mistreatment and gaslighting, my intention with the broader conversation was to ensure patients enter their pregnancies armed with information and tools to effectively communicate their needs with their doctors to ensure a positive outcome.”
She continued, "Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I will continue to fight for the lives of Black mothers and babies."
While talking to Dr. Heavenly in that 2020 live stream, Dr. Jackie said, "Sometimes as African American women, we’re a bit more dramatic and that you go to the doctor and you complain and you complain and you complain and you’re not taken seriously because you cry wolf the entire pregnancy."
Dr. Heavenly immediately fired back. "That ain't me boo. I don't know what you are talking about," she responded.
Dr. Jackie continued, “We wanna also make sure that you’re being serious with your doctor and not playing the games so that could take you off work."
"Because then we see you 25 times in the pregnancy, it’s hard to believe there’s a true problem when there’s a true problem.”
Her comments have caused backlash and some are demanding she be removed from the Bravo reality show.
"#Married2med Bravo @BravoTV @Andy DR JACKIE needs to be fired immediately! Send her an email and let’s hope she isn’t ‘too dramatic,'” one tweet read.
This resurfaced clip comes on the heels of a recent conversation she had with Vice President Kamala Harris to address the maternal crisis in the U.S. that was posted jointly to their individual accounts on the app.