The season finale of The Gossip Game left me wondering what is the true definition of a friend. The word gets thrown around too loosely, and I was a little puzzled when Peter Rosenberg said that we used to be really good friends. I could see the word “friendly,” but to me seeing each other at events and speaking doesn’t earn that stamp of friendship.

I have tons of acquaintances and colleagues who I know for various reasons, but we don’t know each other on a personal level. I use the term friendship for people I have broken bread with, trust with private aspects of my life, speak with on the phone, and include in milestones in my life. Your friends want you to succeed and celebrate your achievements with you but also comfort you when sh*t doesn’t work out. Friends can come to me when they need anything, whether it’s a place to stay, an ear to listen, or advice. My friends are valuable and important to me because I am fiercely loyal to them and expect that respect in return. If you don’t fulfill the aforementioned requirements, you’re someone that I know, which is fine, but that’s not to be confused with being a friend. There are requirements!

People frequently comment on how I’ve managed to stay rather calm this season, but that is my genuine personality. I’m a practical person and I’m able to laugh at some of the absurdities that go on around me. I’ve gradually worked my way through the ranks of satellite radio to NYC morning radio to television, and been able to adjust accordingly. Throughout the past 8½ years, I’ve been subject to rumors reported about me on blog sites, from people that I know at times, and been able to shrug those off. It’s part of the game, and I participate because I have a rumor report 3 times each morning. I can’t expect to report on other people’s lives and then be immune from people reporting about me.

That brings me to my sitdown (well, she stood the whole time so as not to soil her jeans) withKay Foxx. She was upset that Vivian wrote a blog about her sleeping with Maino and said I fueled her. I simply feel that it was a rumor she heard, she reported it, you refuted it, now let it go. I’m sure Kay reports rumors every morning about people that she has met in real life, and every now and then the subjects deny the validity of them. I don’t think that means they should call her a peon and not acknowledge her existence anymore. I report on people I interact with frequently, and as professionals in this industry they’re aware of how things work. But Kay Foxx stood up and told me I need to learn to rise to her level and I should know about being a woman in this industry et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

As a woman in this industry, I’ve never called anyone else a bitch or called them out of their name. You won’t hear me call anyone a wildebeest as she did, or make fun of anyone’s physical attributes. Don’t expect to talk sh*t about everyone else (calling me fake, Sharon conceited, andVivian a bitch) and then boo-hoo that people need to keep your name out of their mouths. If you can dish it, be ready to take it.

To wrap this up, the first season of The Gossip Game was an interesting journey to say the least. There were a lot of scenes left on the cutting floor for all of us that we wish you could have seen. There were people who “turn up” for the cameras and then have twitter rants or breakdowns behind the scenes on how they are portrayed. Own whatever it is that you put out there. You did it, and once you did it on camera there’s no reneging. And thank you VH1 for all the free drinks when I had to wait hours to shoot a scene. I see what you did there!

Angela Yee, VH1