Steve Harvey, the talk show host and radio personality has quietly ended the highly acclaimed Neighborhood Awards, formerly known as the Hoodie Awards, after more than 16 years. The Neighborhood Awards recognized local businesses, community leaders, teachers, churches and local entrepreneurs.
Harvey’s reason for cancelling the Neighborhood Awards, despite major community interest and its previous success, is reportedly due to a break from former manager Rushion McDonald, who owns the show and concept. After Harvey parted with his manager more than a year ago, he decided to stop supporting the event.
Harvey has recently faced major criticism for meeting with President DonaldTrump at Trump Tower on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Harvey has stated that he ‘didn’t expect’ the serious backlash he received from the Black community.
Harvey said, ’On a personal note, a lot of y’all hurt me,’ during a recent message to his radio audience, phoning in from his tropical vacation on January 16, the day of the meeting. ‘You really did. I didn’t expect the backlash to be so fierce.’
Harvey has maintained that he met with Trump in an effort to ‘get some things started’ and make ‘a plan for the inner cities’.
Harvey, a known comic, has been trying to position himself as a motivational speaker and community activist, so he doesn’t understand why people don’t think he was worthy of being an ambassador for his culture,’ the DailyMail.com source said.
Harvey has spent the last week vacationing with his family on a private island in the Caribbean and is focused on a new venture called Sand & Soul Festival, which will debut in October in Nassau, Bahamas at Atlantis Paradise Resort.
Members of Harvey’s team hope that the fallout from the Trump meeting, and the cancellation of Neighborhood Awards – as well as reports that Atlantis Paradise Resort is being sued for an outbreak of bed bugs – won’t deter fans.
Harvey’s radio listening audience consists of 76% of black women. He needs to seriously find a strategy to reconnect with his audience so they don’t abandon him permanently. The drastic loss of his support base could severely impact his bottom line. It’s essential to his livelihood and the survival of both his radio and television shows.
Harvey should have considered the long term ramifications of his meeting with Trump. Less than a week prior to the meeting Harvey was a staunch opponent of then President-elect Trump. His credibility is now in question. Steve looked surprised following the meeting. It was as if he didn’t expect the paparazzi to show up and for Trump to loudly express that they were old friends. Now Harvey has to deal with the back lash of his actions.
What are your thoughts? Can Steve Harvey come back from this major fall from grace?
SIMPLY EBONY 