Claudia Jordan Announces End of ‘Tea G-I-F’ on Fox Soul

The tea will no longer be spilled. Claudia Jordan’s talk show, Tea G-I-F, has been canceled following a five-year run from 2019 until 2024. The series, which the Deal or No Deal star began with Al Reynolds and YouTube star Funky Dineva in 2019, entered hiatus earlier this year, with Jordan confirming on social media earlier in July that Tea G-I-F would not be returning.

“I tried y’all, I really did,” Jordan wrote on social media. “Unfortunately, Tea-GIF will NOT be returning to Fox Soul after our hiatus. 2019-2024 What a run! Soul mates I love you and you already know I’ll never stop pushing to give y’all more shows in the future.”

Jordan did not give a reason for the cancellation, but she told That Grape Juice at the 2024 BET Awards that the current hiatus “was scheduled months out in advance” and the show was set to return to Fox Soul on July 9. However, she acknowledged that there had been “some issues behind the scenes.”

During a recent Tea G-I-F appearance, issues arose during a conversation between Luenell and Al Reynolds when Luenell violated several policies. According to a report from SandraRose.com, Luenell asked Reynolds, “Did you ever come out as gay to Star Jones before your marriage?” The question violated a strict policy forbidding references to Star Jones, who previously issued a cease-and-desist order to the show’s producers. Luenell also allegedly violated a policy stating that Reynolds’ sexuality was off-limits unless he chose to discuss it. The question reportedly left Reynolds “upset,” and he allegedly “blamed Claudia Jordan for urging Luenell to ask Al about his ex-wife.”

The outlet reported that the behind-the-scenes drama worsened during Reynolds’ birthday roast, during which co-host Armon Wiggins stated, “Al’s got a unique ability to smile in your face, snap a picture and go behind your back and talk about you to your co-worker that he claims he hates. … It’s like he’s got a Ph.D. in two-faced studies.” Reynolds later called his former co-host Funky Dineva, who was broadcasting live at the time, to express his upset over the remarks. He later blamed Jones “for feeding information about him to Armon.”

“We’re trying to figure it out right now, because everyone wants the show to continue,” Jordan told That Grape Vine of the reported drama. “But, you know, when you have a show just like any girl group or boy group, there’s going to be some personality issues, and that’s ok. I’m willing to work through them… when there’s a will, there’s a way… Just know I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”

Amid the drama, D’Artagnan Bebel, general manager and head of programming at Fox Soul, made the decision to suspend the show, which was initially set to return on July 9 before it was ultimately canceled.

Source: That Grape Juice, SandraRose.com