My Own Family Turned Against Me! | KARAMO

So first I wanna say thank you for having us today.

Of course.

I appreciate the way you have calmness and patience with all the guests on your stage. Thank you. 'Cause today you need your calmness.

Okay, I need my calmness?

You need your calmness, you need your patience, you need God, you need the support from your audience with my sister today.

Thank you for the prep, okay.

Okay, I don't know what we gonna get today, but let's all be in preparation for anything.

So what's going on with your sister? Why you think we need all that?

My sister, she lies, she steals, she's just beyond disrespectful to my mother. Me and her, we've kind of never had a relationship.

What's the age difference between y'all?

6 years.

6-year age difference. And she's, how long has she been lying and stealing from you?

All her life, since she could talk. More specifically, she lied recently about stealing my earrings. I didn't pay $1,000 for 'em, but I paid some money and they mine, okay? So I'm looking for these earrings. I say, Adre, where's my earrings? I don't know, I don't know. I double checked the earrings in her ear. You sitting up here lying to me with my earrings in your ears. They not yours, you didn't pay for 'em, they might give 'em to me.

I hear you, I hear you. What has she done to your mom?

Okay, first of all.

We all hear her backstage, right? What happened on Christmas Eve 2 years ago?

My mom had a health scare that could have been detrimental to all of our lives. It's me, Adre, we got a younger sibling, so In this health scare, I can't even think about what my mom going through. All I'm thinking about is if this is the end for my mom, it's just me and these kids. So if my mom die and it's just me and you, I gotta depend on you to take care of this younger kid. You know what I'm saying? If I can't depend on you while she's here and alive, how I'm gonna depend on you if she die?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I hear you. And what did she say?

She don't care.

She don't care. Have you ever had a good relationship with her?

We've had good moments.

Okay.

But a good relationship, I can't necessarily say that. I can say that we kind of grew up in an estranged household where everybody in the house kind of pass each other. You go to your room and that is what it is. So growing up, we thought that was normal.

So y'all grew up in a house where y'all don't even talk about stuff?

Mm-mm. But I brought my sister here today because she needs some help.

Got it.

She needs some help. I'm trying to help my, I'm trying, You see the disrespect.

Well, listen, we done heard her backstage already, so I wanna meet your sister and hear her side of the story. So everyone, please welcome Adrie to the show.

Hi. Let's talk about it.

Girl, I don't wanna talk about it.

Let's talk about it. You did that backstage and did all that for what reason? Let's talk about it. What did you just tell me?

Let's tell the truth.

Are you here to tell the truth?

It's my time to talk.

Or are you here to tell a lie? Didn't you just get to talk? You here to tell the truth or you here to tell a lie? Didn't you just get to talk?

In all fairness, in all fairness, when she was out here talking, you wasn't interrupting.

Exactly. Because. I was talking, I was talking.

But in all fairness, in all fairness, so she getting defended, you was defended back, I heard all your defenses. So how do you feel about what your sister was saying there?

Okay, I understand where my sister is coming from being a big sister in this situation.

Okay.

But far as, she just came back really into my life, honestly.

Okay.

She's been gone.

Okay.

Karamo, I was 18. I left and went to college like an 18-year-old.

That's understandable, and I was so happy for you.

Honestly.

But did you ever think how that made me feel too?

I didn't think about that.

Exactly, thank you.

Did you steal your sister's earrings?

No, her earrings in her ears.

Karamo, stop talking to me.

Have you ever had a good relationship with her in your opinion?

No.

No, why not?

It's just me personally, it's just like she said, we did live in a household to where it's just, we just passed by each other. But I always wanted to be around my sister. I always wanted to be around her and her friends. She could tell you that. But it gets to a point to where I can't take the rejection so much. So it's just, you gonna keep rejecting me, so I might as well not even do it no more.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

That's my favorite picture of us though.

Aw.

What's your relationship like with your mom?

It's very different than her and her relationship.

What has your mom told your family about you?

The same thing she say, that I lie, I steal, I do drugs, and this new thing of I sell my body as well. Which isn't true at all.

Do you engage in recreational drugs?

I did. I've been clean for a year.

Okay, good. Do you feel like your mother was a good mother?

I feel like she was a good provider. The nurturing was never there.

Okay, do you feel the same way?

Mm-hmm.

So is your mom the one who accused you of doing drugs since you said she's also the one that said—

Yeah, she accused me of, before I just left and moved back to Michigan, of being on heroin and that's never been the case.

Okay.

So it's just like, dang, I could do 1,000 things good and 1 thing bad and we have a disagreement and it's just the bad things all the way.

You got the numbers wrong. No, I don't. It's 1,000 bad things and 1 thing good. And you won't hand claps for the 1 thing good. Just before we got here, she called my mom and say, what have I ever done to you?

I said, what have I ever done so bad to you for you to say the things that you said to me, Ma? That's what I said.

You done told this lady I purposely did something to hurt you, and y'all hurt me.

Would y'all ever tell y'all daughter that y'all would push her off a balcony?

No.

Thank you. It's a lot of hurt that I have and the reason behind the things.

We all got hurt.

There's deeper reasons behind the things that I do and say.

That's not just because— You told me lying and disrespecting me.

What the fuck do I lie about?

All you do is lie.

Did you just tell me I was gonna be shit?

I said you ain't got shit, 'cause you don't.

Let her finish.

You 21 years old, you ain't got a shit.

You barely got a neck.

I don't give a shit about none of that though.

That's the thing.

You're not gonna keep disrespecting me and think that I'm not gonna disrespect you back.

I'm grown as fuck now.

I might be a little too grown. What type of grown are you?

What do you mean?

What type of grown are you? Okay.

Well, I wanna meet your mother Cassandra. I think it's time to meet your mother Cassandra to get her side of the story. So everyone, please welcome Cassandra to the show.

What the fuck you talking about for real? I'm ready to go. In all honesty— Mom, please, I don't want to be in touch. No, Mom, I don't want to hug right now. In all honesty— Please, I'm sorry. I don't want to hug right now. I'm irritated by myself.

We all need some help.

Do you hear me? If we all need help, why am I the topic of the show? Why am I the topic of the show if we all came on here to get help, Mom? If we all came on here to get help, why am I the topic of the show?

Stop yelling.

Because you know I don't do that.

Sit down.

I don't want to. I'm not in the mood to sit down.

Sit down for me, please. I don't wanna ask you again. Hi, Karamo.

How you doing? So how do you feel listening to what your daughters have said?

I'm absolutely torn. Sometimes I feel like I gotta go this way, this way, this way, and I'm overwhelmed.

It hurts.

Yeah.

I can't sit here and say, she's so wrong, she's so wrong, because I'm the common denominator here. And I know this, accountability and responsibility.

I got it, I hear you.

I've done my stuff, she's done hers, she's done hers. But how do we get on one accord and go all the same?

Do you believe she's stolen from you?

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Mm-hmm.

I know that for a fact.

You cheated me out of it, and you told me we was gonna split that money. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. Let's keep this together, because how can I go to sleep at night when I don't know what you gonna take? You know how hard that is?

How do you think it made me feel when I was an at-home babysitter? Please let me know.

Absolutely horrible.

I was depressed, Mom. And I've been more hurt than I speak on, 'cause you know I don't even speak on my feelings. I don't care to for the simple fact of I see how y'all downplaying me now. That's exactly why I don't, and I don't be wanting to. That's why I don't engage in family activities because they go from a group thing to just a two thing.

How is that? Who is the two?

Those two there.

Who got some money?

That's fine, I got my own bank.

I got my own bank now, boo. Every time it's time somewhere to go, I go somewhere.

You talk so negatively. I've never really—

Because you need to see that every fucking thing I done did though.

Fuck outta here. Don't leave.

Stop talking to me, please. What is the point of me being here if I can't even speak my damn truth?

We all need to speak. That's why you here.

Fuck outta here.

Leave me alone.

How do I get outta here?

How can we come up here and heal and she's sitting up here telling lies?

If I can just give y'all, and this is, again, I'm just coming in short amount of time knowing this, and from my perspective, I don't feel like she's a liar. I believe she's done things that have hurt both of your feelings, but she's owned up to almost everything y'all have said.

Mm-hmm.

Now is the thing. She's talking about it now, but we gotta go through a whole circle to try to get a piece of the truth. Now you getting the truth now, but it wasn't always like that.

Okay, but do y'all think y'all gang up on her?

No.

'Cause I don't speak to her.

Sometimes.

I don't talk to her.

Sometimes.

It's more of a—

I don't talk to you. I will say, mention something, vent to her about it. She may have an input. I'm not gonna say we just sit up and talk about Adre. No, we don't. Because guess what? At the end of the day, like I just told her, you a piece of me no matter what it is.

But I can understand. I'm glad, Mom, you admitted it. And I can see really that you are really here to admit and own up and to help your daughters heal. Because I do think there's a bit of two against one. And I'm not trying to say that you're not valid for how you feel and how you've been in this thing, but I can understand her frustration. And I know you don't talk to her, which what makes it worse, because then when you do say something, she's gonna feel like, we didn't even talk, so now you just ganging up on me.

Mm-hmm.

AJ.

I was told in the back that it's a drug test. Can I take one please so they could get off my back?

Oh yeah, you're very welcome to take a drug test.

Okay, thank you.

I just wanted you to know before you came back out, while you were backstage, I tried to see if they thought that they gang up on you because from my perspective—

But they do, they do.

From my perspective, I can see how you feel, 2 against 1.

Everything my sister said, I went through that times 10. My mom had me at 17 years old. So everything she said, you talking about staying at home with a kid. I had to take care of all of us. My mom depressed in the house, she ain't eating. I'm taking care of everybody in the house. And you mad because I left to better me?

I'm not mad at you because you left.

Well, what are you saying?

I'm not mad at you because you left. I never was mad at you because you left.

You're mad because she didn't contact you.

No, I'm actually mad at the fact that my mama call her venting and you only getting one side of the story and you just bring it back to me, not even caring about my side.

That's what I'm saying.

Yeah, like not even caring about my side.

So can you hear that and receive that?

No.

Because I need you to get that because that's what I'm witnessing here.

I do feel like you're not heard. I'm not.

I'm not, Mom. I'm not heard and I don't feel loved by y'all at all.

The first thing I gotta tell you is that your sister is right when she says when her mom calls you and vents to you, she is owed the conversation with her sister of saying, "Let's talk as sisters." So Mom, can you commit to not calling this daughter?

Absolutely.

And venting to her about this daughter?

Absolutely. Whatever it takes. Yes.

Is that going to help you to be there in a space where you can then start to heal and not feel like you gotta be caught in the middle?

Yeah.

Can you take accountability? Because when you react, you go hard.

I do.

But you gotta be better than that.

I've tried though, Karamo. I do try to be better, but it's just for over the years I've always been attacked and it's just, No, I got these guard up.

But what has happened now is somebody has helped them see where they can make steps. So can you be better, even better? Can you try?

I could try.

This ain't nothing but a first step for y'all. I know. You know the work, Mom, you gotta do.

Absolutely. I apologize for you feeling as though I took your childhood. I see your point. I'm happy you were there to help me. I'm not happy that it took away from what you needed at that point in time. I had nothing else to do. I had no other options. We all we got. We gotta start acting like it.

All y'all deserve the healing that y'all need. I'm glad that you finally, 'cause hopefully you felt a little heard today.

Yeah, it's just a start though.

Step 1, okay? And I wish y'all the best of luck.

Thank you.

All right. Stay with us, friends. We'll be right back with more. I caught you up side from the beginning. You know that, right?

Yeah.

You know it.

I kind of figured.

I know it. You knew from immediately. I saw what was going on.

My little walk off, that was just so I wouldn't blow all of it up.

I get it, and I get it. You was right for walking off. There's just a lot of pain there that like no one's acknowledging yours, and I understand. You don't feel protected.

Yeah, so I protect myself. And I lash out. That's the thing of how I protect myself, which is not good.

Yeah, but you are aware. And when you're aware, and you're also 21, you can go through this. But we need to go tell them what's on this. OK. Hey, y'all.

Hey. Hey. Hey.

So you took the drug test. I just figured it's important for you to know this. It's your truth. You already know that. Your truth don't hurt.

Yeah, I know.

I was waiting.

OK. It's your truth.

Mm-hmm. And the test results are you are negative for all three of opiates, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

I'm proud of you. I don't know if you know that. Adrienne, I need you, Adrienne. So much potential within you. You is a piece of me, my baby. That's what it's about, family.

We got to figure this shit out.

OK. You hear me?

Figure it the fuck out.

The only thing I need you to do is I need you to get your life together. The way you running around in the streets and the stuff that you doing, you need to stop. That hurts me, okay? I need you to do better.

I just want y'all to get this idea away.

Listen to me.

Please, no.

Listen to me. I don't have no idea of you. The only idea I have of you is Adrienne can do better. Why she not? That's it.

OK, so—

Because you can do it.

You got answers right now.

Put this on your wall.

Thank you.

You got answers now. I wish y'all the best of luck. I got to get ready for the next show. Bye, y'all. Take care now.