‘Summer House Martha’s Vineyard’: Is Shanice A Free Spirit or Inconsiderate?

Initially when Shanice Henderson comes into the house on Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard she is bubbly, fun, and ready for action. This is short-lived on Bravo’s newest hit of a reality series, however, when some drama with a famous ex comes to light, tarnishing her attempt to get to know Alex Tyree. It’s easy to empathize with her response, and when she left for a brief time many were thinking, “Poor Shanice”. But she came back ready for action and now viewers are saying, “Girl, what?”. It’s Titty-gate 2023, and while we support freeing the nipple, her behavior is making some wonder: Is she really expressing herself, or is she just plain inconsiderate?

Shanice and the ‘Insecure’ Actor Who Shall Not Be Named

Who is Shanice Henderson? The 31-year-old joined the Summer House crew late in the game, but she certainly came in with guns blazing. Shanice met Jasmine Ellis Cooper and Bria Fleming during their time working at the Playboy Club. Her high energy is certainly hard to ignore, and her positivity was needed when she first arrived, even though that was immediately destroyed by the bathroom situation with Phil. After Phil’s quick ejection from the house, the focus went back to who would couple up…or hook up. There was a clear initial attraction between Shanice and Alex, and given that Alex was also a member of “Men Who Want To Be With Jordan” club, this seemed like a promising pairing. The next day, however, there was a shift. Shanice was existing as her bubbly flirty self and a much colder Alex requested space. In his confessional, viewers learn that one of the guys told Alex to Google Shanice, leading him to discover information about her last relationship. A relationship that had a very public end due to the fact that her ex-boyfriend was an actor on HBO’s Insecure. And, rather than having a grown-up conversation with the actual person involved in the situation, he opted to shut down and shut her out.

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It was easy to empathize with Shanice at this moment. While viewers will never know the ins and outs of what really happened, it was easy to see that Shanice was hurt by this. She shared her perspective of the story, as well as Jasmine and Bria, who both agreed that it was a painful time for their friend. Men saying their ex-girlfriends are crazy is a tale as old as time; and oftentimes it isn’t the case. In this situation, both sides seem to have receipts, so we’ll never know the unbiased truth. Regardless of this, Alex, who claims to be a spiritual and open-minded person, showed his true colors by basing his opinion of her solely on internet gossip without bothering to get her side of the story. Shanice leaves the house with this impression still left upon her, and when she gets back, she does what Alex should have done, and has a one-on-one chat with him.

‘Summer House Martha’s Vineyard’: Titty-Gate 2023

The night that will live in infamy for the next week or so: girls’ night out. The crew split up by gender to have their own nights out on the town. While Silas engaged in some hypocritical behavior, Jasmine was able to have fun with her friends, and it was clearly needed. The ladies were lit when they returned to the house, dancing on furniture and skinny-dipping in the pool. When the guys come back to join in on the fun, things almost immediately take a turn for the worst. The party moves to the jacuzzi, and everyone is having a grand ol’ time. Bria goes inside and while she’s away Shanice decides she wants to get naked. She asks Simon, Bria’s boyfriend if he was cool with it, and he said it was fine. This was mistake number one. Simon should have shut it down. He theoretically knows his woman and the mess that could have ensued.

Americans are not as open to nudity as Europeans; he clearly forgot this fact. So Shanice stripped down, and Bria had the drunken pleasure of seeing her friend butt naked next to her boyfriend. Some may say, “Well that’s her friend, she knows how she is”, but one can imagine how shocking it is to see your friend sitting naked next to your boyfriend. A lesser person probably would have started swinging fists in her direction if she saw her friend sitting happily naked next to her man. Bria’s reaction was 100% valid in this instance, but the aftermath is what made it really messy.

Bria doesn’t hash things out with Shanice herself. Instead, she goes around and talks to literally everyone else but her. She wants them to choose sides and they all, very relatably, want to stay out of it. Shanice quickly hears the news about this and decides to retaliate in the way she knows best: by running out on the balcony when everyone is outside with her whole chest bare for all to see.

Is Shanice Free-Spirited or Inconsiderate?

Now the big debate: who is right and who — and who is wrong? This isn’t necessarily a black-and-white scenario. Shanice does not care about nudity. This was seen earlier when she had a chat with Amir baring it all — to which Amir had a very mature reaction…not. He giggled about seeing boobies like a schoolboy. The point is, she is a person who is comfortable with her body and comfortable being naked. There is 100% nothing wrong with this. And when she decided to get naked in the hot tub, she simply wanted to be naked. There was nothing nefarious about her impulses; baby girl just loves being naked. She asked Simon’s permission, which was her attempt at being considerate. It was simply a foolish drunken moment for all parties involved. It’s the aftermath that is the problem. Bria not talking to Shanice, and Shanice retaliating in a childish way in front of everyone doesn’t help everyone move forward. At this point in time, the entire group is already dealing with some difficult feelings, and her choice does not make matters better for anyone.

So is Bria inconsiderate? At that moment, yes. She has no idea what has been going on with the others and seems to be solely focused on poking the bear that is her emotions. Had Bria handled the situation by talking things out with Shanice, perhaps she wouldn’t have bothered with flashing everyone on the balcony. But she didn’t, and Shanice fought back in her own immature way. Based on recent interviews, this situation has not necessarily destroyed their friendship, but one can imagine viewers will bear witness to a bumpy reconciliation for the rest of the season.