Dr. Jackie Walters, star of Bravo‘s Married to Medicine, has issued an apology after backlash over resurfaced comments from 2020 saying Black women “cry wolf” during their pregnancy.
“I’m taking a much-needed pause to address comments that I made during a 2020 live interview with one of my castmates,” Dr. Jackie said in a video posted on her Instagram page. “First and most importantly to Black women and mothers, including your friends and the medical community who care for you because my words left you hurt and feeling unsupported.”
She continued, “I want you to know I hear you, I see you, I believe you, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I am brokenhearted over this. The guilt and reality that I have hurt and offended people, especially Black women and some of my own patients, pains me to my core.”
Back in 2020, Dr. Jackie appeared on a live broadcast with her Married to Medicine co-star, Dr. Heavenly, where she said Black women are not always honest with their doctors.
“Sometimes as African American women, we’re a bit more dramatic and that you go to the doctor and you complain and you complain and you complain and you’re not taken seriously because you cry wolf the entire pregnancy,” Dr. Jackie said on Heavenly Help Us. “As African American women, we want to also make sure you’re being serious with your doctor and not playing the game so I can take you off work. Because then, we see you 25 times in the pregnancy, it’s hard to believe that there’s a true problem when there’s a true problem.”
The clip resurfaced after Bravo aired the most recent episode of the reality series where Dr. Jackie is spotlighted having a Zoom meeting with VP Kamala Harris about the nation’s maternal health crisis.
“Black women are 3 times more likely to die from childbirth in America. This is inexcusable,” the VP captioned on Instagram sharing a clip from her conversation with Dr. Jackie.
Backlash over Dr. Jackie’s comments ensued, prompting the rest of the Married to Medicine cast to release statements on the matter. Dr. Jackie says she’s seen her conversation from 2020 and admits that she “used the wrong words and descriptions to properly convey my concerns regarding maternal mortality related to women of color.”
“The fact is, we must do more because we are still dying more,” she added.
Dr. Jackie said that if she could have a do-over, she would suggest patients “keep a log of your concerns and symptoms so that you can provide them accurately to your physician. Have a buddy system, someone who can advocate for you when you’re with a physician, especially when pregnant. Know that a second and third opinion is not just sometimes warranted but necessary.”
She ended the video by saying, “I thank you for taking out time from your holiday to tune into my apology and my self-dedication to Black women and health care. I’ve been shaken and moved to be better.”
After Dr. Jackie shared her apology, Dr. Heavenly reshared it on her page and added, “That’s my dog!!! I knew she would make this right! We love you.”
Dr. Simone Whitmore had stood by Dr. Jackie amid the backlash, issuing the following statement: “I know first hand, personally and professionally, Dr. Jackie is a great doctor. As Black female OBGYNs, we are grateful when patients choose us and place their trust in us. Black mothers are dying 3 times more than any other ethnic group and we are working hard to fight these statistics.”