Should black sororities wage war on all ratchet reality shows?

• screenshot/VH1
• Priyanka Banks of VH1's short-lived "Sorority Sisters" is one of five Delta Sigma Theta members permanently expelled from the black Greek-letter organization for her role in the reality show.

Oo-Whoops! Turns out acting ratchet for reality TV does have it's drawbacks if you're a "Sorority Sister." Not only has the controversial Atlanta-based show featuring members of historically black Greek-letter organizations been scrubbed from VH1, five of its eight total cast members have been permanently expelled from Delta Sigma Theta sorority and two Alpha Kappa Alpha members have been suspended.

On Jan. 13, the same day of its annual Founder's Day celebration, "Sorority Sister" cast members Lydia Mitchell, Priyanka Banks, MeToya Monroe, Adrene Ashford, and Shanna McCormick were expelled from 102-year-old Delta Sigma Theta, reports the AJC's Rodney Ho. That came one day after April McRae and Joy Hammond were suspended for 18 months from Alpha Kappa Alpha, founded in 1908.

It runs counter to the typical narrative on reality TV, where those who exhibit the worst behavior wind up with the biggest platform for personal gain. (Pick a villain, any villain — from Nene Leakes to Joseline Hernandez.)

Among the many viral campaigns waged against the Viacom-owned VH1 for its repetitive string of lowest-cultural-denominator reality shows, this is the first in recent memory that actually succeeded. VH1 effectively ended the program on Jan. 16, when the network aired the last three episodes left in a rough-and-tumble season that garnered multiple petitions and pulled advertisements.

Instead of quieting the criticism, the show's end and the sororities' disciplinary action has added fuel to a fiery debate over the lack of institutional outrage heard in response to mass denigration of black women on other similar shows. (Pick a show, any show — from "Love and Hip-Hop" to "Basketball Wives.)

But where does the responsibility lie and who's going to carry the weight?

While some believe black sororities and fraternities should be equally vocal in criticizing such shows over their perpetuation of broad cultural stereotypes, others argue that a private organization is right to prioritize the conduct of its membership. And in these century-old social organizations founded in part on W.E.B. DuBois' popularization of the Talented Tenth theory, respectability politics isn't an outmoded code of conduct, it's the rule of order.

If there are any conclusions to draw, this may be the real kicker: Ultimately, VH1 didn't fold the show due to public pressure. Only after the Deltas and the AKAs took extreme disciplinary action against their members featured on the show did the network cancel the season. And really, what else could VH1 do at that point? Basically, "Sorority Sisters" had no bona fide sorority sisters left.