Monday night was the series premiere of MTV’s controversial new reality series Made In Staten Island featuring “a group of rebellious young adults and their families as they struggle to break away from the temptations of the criminal lifestyle they were born into.” It seems clear right away that the central figure out of the cast is Christian “CP” Patterson as he narrates the entire five-minute intro before being the first cast member to be introduced.
In his introduction, CP shares a little bit about his background, including his most recent legal troubles:
I got into a little trouble with the law. I was at a party and a fight broke out. Somebody winded up getting stabbed.
I didn’t stab nobody, but I was involved in the fight, so they indicted me on attempted murder, assault one, assault two, assault three, assault with a deadly weapon.
And I made a mistake. I definitely regret a lot. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, honestly.
The police account of the incident seems to tell a slightly different story as they suggest that Christian (18 at the time) and his 17-year-old friend named Daniel Milton arrived at a house party near Blue Heron Park unannounced on April 17, 2017. They were reportedly looking for another 18-year-old male, who later arrived at the party.
From SI Live:
When the boy finally showed up, Milton and a co-defendant, Christian Patterson, 18, took the victim outside. A fight ensued in which Milton stabbed the teen nine times, said Ozdinc.
One thrust penetrated three to four inches, he said.
The victim’s injuries were so severe he was rushed in critical condition to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, where he underwent surgery for the amount of blood he lost, officials said. He was stabbed in the torso, chest and back, said authorities.
The teen survived.
Christian merely mentions that he was “involved in the fight,” but the police further explain that he “punched and kicked the victim on the ground while Milton then stabbed him.”
Daniel Milton entered a guilty plea and his defense team pleaded with the judge to sentence Daniel as a youthful offender so that the conviction would not go on his record and the file would be sealed. The judge disagreed and sentenced Daniel as an adult in August of 2017. He received five years in prison for first-degree assault. “This was not a random attack,” said state Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Rooney. “It seems to me there was a certain amount of premeditation involved.”
Oddly, Christian appears to have been 18 at the time of the crime, but he was sentenced as a youthful offender. His attorney reportedly argued that having a criminal record would limit Christian’s job prospects and “hinder his ability going forward to be productive in society.” After pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault, Christian received three years of probation at his sentencing in July of 2017 — which I assume was well before filming began for Made In Staten Island.
Prior to his sentencing, a police spokesman told SI Live “that Patterson has three prior arrests, including an assault and possession of a firearm.” Because Christian would have been a minor at the time of any prior offense, tracking down any sort of court records isn’t an option. I did, however, find an article from 2015 that mentions a 16-year-old Christian Patterson being charged with a mugging in Staten Island. “Christian Patterson, of the 100 block of Malone Avenue, Oakwood, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the Jan. 25 incident, said police.”
According to the police report, this Christian and three other accomplices surrounded the victim at the Old Town station of the Staten Island Railway and demanded money. The victim gave them $40 in cash and the assailants fled the scene.
It is unclear if this is the same Christian, but the ages and location seem to match up.
Made In Staten Island joins a long list of MTV shows garnering criticism from people feeling as though their demographic is being misrepresented. New York City politicians like Councilman Joe Borelli and Mayor Bill de Blasio have spoken out about the show on social media:
Anyone who has spent any time on Staten Island knows MTV is peddling stereotypes in a shameless ratings grab. https://t.co/funzkVDRxP
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 6, 2019
This can’t be serious.
This is embarrassing.
I don’t even know what to say.https://t.co/yw56b9AlF6
— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) December 19, 2018
Former Mob Wives star and Made In Staten Island Executive Producer (and mother of cast member Karina Seabrook) seemed undaunted by the criticism, to say the least:
statenislandmtv #madeinstatenisland January 14th #MTV you know you’re onto something when the hate is great ?? https://t.co/Nga0yenkAq
— Karen Gravano (@KarenGravanoVH1) January 8, 2019
Very nice! Glad you all came out to support our #CoastGuard families. Thank you for the pizza, and happy to chat over a slice. https://t.co/9TB3HRig4T
— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) January 14, 2019
Unfortunately for Karen, the cast, and MTV, the hate being great did not really seem to do much as far as a ratings boost. The Made In Staten Island series premiere had just 485,000 viewers, despite being slotted in right behind the Teen Mom 2 Season 9 premiere on Monday night. But, as is the case with any new show, the true indication of how good it is is whether or not the audience grows over the first three-four episodes — so stay tuned!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
