Briana DeJesus is shutting down speculation that her mom, Roxeanne, allegedly used a racial slur during the Dec. 29 episode of Teen Mom 2. “My mom is not racist. My mom did not use that word,” Briana told People on Jan. 13, which released an uncensored version of the MTV star’s conversation with her mom from the episode. In the tense scene, Roxeanne had been angry that Briana’s ex Devoin Austin had leaked her cellphone number online and used a curse word, which had been bleeped out in the original episode since it violated FCC guidelines.
The newly-released clip revealed that Roxeanne had actually said, “Next they’ll be knocking on our f—ing door because this d— gave out your information.” No racial slur could be heard in the Teen Mom 2 clip, and so Briana added, “It’s so frustrating for people to think that my mom would say that word or would be that type of person when she has been Devoin’s biggest supporter.”
Roxeanne also chimed in to defend herself, telling People, “I’ve been really sad and really emotional about it, because we’re talking about Devoin. I didn’t say it, clearly it’s there. It doesn’t work out for anybody when you assume. I love Devoin and will always have his back. I will always want the best for him. And it just breaks my heart to think that this happened.”
Despite Briana’s back-and-forth drama with Devoin, whom she shares her nine-year-old daughter Nova with, Roxeanne said they’re all “on this journey together.” She added, “Some way, somehow, we have to make it work for Nova. This doesn’t affect me or Briana as much as it will affect Nova. I just need him to relax, calm down, and it’ll all work out in the end.”
Devoin Austin shared a video with his and Briana’s daughter, Nova, in Aug. 2020. (Courtesy of Instagram/@devoinaustin)
“I always work on a relationship with him — no matter how disappointed or angry or hurt I am, Devoin and Nova’s relationship, to me, is priority number one. It’s not about us, it’s about Nova, the biracial child,” Roxeanne continued (Briana is Puerto Rican, and Devoin is Black). The grandmother added, “[Nova] knows about both races, she loves both sides of the family, and we won’t let anything change that.”
Outside of Briana’s drama with Devoin, she’ll be facing some turbulence within her family as well in the upcoming MTV special called Teen Mom 2: Briana’s Family Secret airing on Jan. 19. That’s because Briana finds out she has a secret teenage brother!