‘Black Ink Crew: Chicago’ Recap: Charmaine Quits The Show, Ryan Feels No Way About It

Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz

Black Ink Crew: Chicago is back, and drama is already brewing in Chi-Town.

Ryan & Charmaine Are No Longer Buddies

The new season opens up with a 9 MAG-hosted event alongside the Hustle Mommies, an “organization dedicated to providing a foundation for women to come together and push one another to become better Mothers and women.” The event was about giving back to the community and combating violence in their communities, so it was pretty surprising to many that Charmaine, a very vocal cast member on community matters, was not in attendance.

Ryan was pressed by the crew about Charmaine’s absence and revealed that he had taken a step back in terms of his friendship with 2nd City Ink’s owner. His reasoning, Ryan was not happy that Charmaine was taking his advice about running her shop. He was particularly upset about how she handled the whole situation with Prince. Prince is now a happy artist at 9 MAG to remind you how things played out.

"We gotta allow her to come around when SHE’S ready too."

Charmaine being MIA leaves the guys wondering where their friendship stands. See if they get some answers when #BlackInkCHI returns TONIGHT at 8/7c on @VH1! pic.twitter.com/8Gjw7WNKlD

— Black Ink Crew (@BlackInkCrew) August 9, 2022

Miss Kitty, Ryan’s former boo, is back on the scene after spending some time across the pond with Steven. She revealed that she and her new “friend” have been looking for spots to open a tattoo shop. We are interested to see how that dynamic continues to play out this season.

Miss Kitty Also Is Done With Charmaine

Miss Kitty reveals to Draya, now employed at 9 MAG, and Brittany that she and Charmaine are no longer friends. Kitty believed that the two were working on their friendship last season, but after she saw Charmaine’s social media comments about her and called her out, Charmaine refused to own up to what she said. It was at that moment Miss Kitty decided their friendship was dead.

Charmaine Officially Leaves Black Ink Crew: Chicago

Charmaine’s exit from Black Ink Crew: Chicago has been known for months, but now we get to see how it plays out on the show. In the premiere, Charmaine filmed only one scene with her artist Ceci, who expresses concern about her boss to Prince. Ceci tells the former 2nd City Ink artist that she saw Charmaine’s husband, Neek, moving out her radio show equipment and telling the camera crew to no longer film her.

Ceci also decides to speak with Ryan about Charmaine’s behavior. She believes Charmaine is not doing well mentally because of the social media backlash. Ryan hears Ceci’s concerns, but he’s not as compassionate, telling her Charmaine knew that comes with the territory when you put your life in front of a camera. Ryan points to the messy things Charmaine has done in past seasons and adds that he too has to deal with the backlash from fans, so there isn’t much sympathy coming from Ryan, and he tells Ceci he has no plans to reach out to Charmaine.

“I think she’s at a point where she needs to take a step back…”

After talking with production, Charmaine has chosen to take an indefinite leave from #BlackInkCHI. pic.twitter.com/k1jDgFbRkZ

— Black Ink Crew (@BlackInkCrew) August 10, 2022

Welp.

You can peep more reactions to the midseason premiere in the gallery below.

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Photo: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz