Hip-Hop/R&B video
models Melyssa Ford and Karrine “Superhead” Steffans have both been
able to gain mass recognition and transition that success into other careers,
but Ford says the similarities end there.
Ford, a Canadian-born model and host on Black Entertainment
Television, said that Steffans’ best-seller “Confessions of a Video
Vixen,” was sending a negative message to young girls.
“Her motivation for doing videos was for a stepping stone
to become bigger in the entertainment industry [and] to be promiscuous,”
Ford told AllHipHop.com. “The fact that her story is being sensationalized
right now sends a real bad message to little girls.”
Ford explained that young girls may not have the maturity to
comprehend adult themes contained in the book, which has sold over 110,000 copies
and is in its sixth print run.
“Confessions” records Steffans’ trials and
tribulation, but her sexual exploits have garnered the most attention for the
new author.
In a recent interview, Stefan’s explained that her book
started out as a personal journal, but evolved into a “cautionary tale”
for young women.
“I was going through so much and when I got to the other
side of it; I just had to kind of figure out what I had done,” Steffans
said during a recent interview with Ed Lover of New York’s Power 105.1
in New York.
Additionally, she said that her stories are backed up by eyewitness
accounts, police records, photos and other methods like her publisher’s
attorneys.
Ford said that she avoided many of the pitfalls that Steffans
confessed to in her book and found that they were quite different, despite some
career parallels.
“I try to
project a good message to the young girls, that you can use videos as stepping-stone
if you do it the right way,” Ford said. “You just look at it as
a job as a paycheck. You know don’t fraternize with the artist after hours
or in the trailer. Don’t make passes at the directors or the producers.
Do what you are asked to do, but respect yourself at the same time. Maintain
that level of etiquette and respect and you will have longevity in this industry.”
The controversy
surrounding “Confessions of a Video Vixen” has propelled the book
to the No. 7 position on the New York Times Best-Seller list.
Karrine Steffans
wrote the 265-page HarperCollins book with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Karen Hunter.
