Eminem Is Trying to Stop ‘RHOP’ Stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon From Filing a Shady Trademark
Since 2021, The Real Housewives of Potomac stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon have hosted their own hit podcast, Reasonably Shady. The show, by its own description, “features conversations about being fearless women as they recount stories from their exciting lives,” with topics including dating, relationships, marriage, entrepreneurs, motherhood, style, glam, and current events. But the show’s title isn’t trademarked, and might not be any time soon if Eminem has anything to say about it.
Eminem started using the name Slim Shady in 1998
Eminem first debuted in 1996, and first entered the public consciousness in 1998 with his sophomore album The Slim Shady LP. From the album’s lead single, “My Name Is,” Eminem introduced his Slim Shady alter ego, who was notably more bombastic than Eminem had previously shown. He rapped about sex, drugs, and violence, and he continued to flex his talents through the persona in the late ’90s and early ’00s.
Eminem soon became synonymous with Slim Shady. Interestingly enough, the name came to him while he was sitting on the toilet. “Boom, the name hit me, and right away I thought of all these words to rhyme with it,” he told Rolling Stone in 1999. “So I wiped my a**, got up off the pot, and went and called everybody I knew.”
Eminem is aiming to stop ‘RHOP’s Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon from trademarking ‘Reasonably Shady’
Having had the Slim Shady name for so long, Eminem doesn’t want to let go of it that easily. In February 2023, Em filed an opposition against The Real Housewives of Potomac stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon’s tradmark application for Reasonably Shady. According to the documents obtained by Page Six, Eminem feels that his brand would be “damaged” if the RHOP personalities are granted the trademark for their show.
The documents went on to say that Reasonably Shady can “cause confusion in the minds of consumers,” namely those who have known him by Slim Shady and simply Shady for over two decades. He has owned the trademark for “Shady” to use on merch for years.
Bryant and Dixon have been hosting their Reasonably Shady podcast since 2021. And on The Real Housewives of Potomac, fans see how the duo grows their podcast into a full-blown venture, including doing live shows. To capitalize on their success, they filed a trademark to begin selling merchandise including lip glosses, water bottles, hats, socks, and more. But Eminem believes that their doing so would leave fans everywhere confused.
Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon are ‘RHOP’ OGs
The Real Housewives of Potomac first premiered on Bravo in 2016. Its four original cast members included Gizelle Bryant, Robyn Dixon, Karen Huger, Ashley Darby, Charrisse Jackson-Jordan, and Katie Rost. In subsequent years, personalities like Monique Samuels, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and Wendy Osefo have joined the cast. Bryant, Dixon, Huger, and Darby continue to remain a part of the hit reality TV show through its seventh season.
