'Black Ink Crew's Ceaser Emanuel and Donna's Friendship Is on Thin Ice (EXCLUSIVE CLIP)

*Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 9 of Black Ink Crew.*

If you're an avid viewer of VH1's Black Ink Crew, then you know how important business and loyalty are to head honcho Ceaser Emanuel. Over the years, we’ve watched as he fell out with various cast members, like Puma, O-S--t, and Melanie. But in cases like Puma's, Ceasar was able to bury the hatchet and rekindle both their friendship and business dealings.

Donna, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. She has already been open with Ceaser about her status as a tattoo artist, but she wants to maintain her connection to the crew while doing her own thing. While there is no love lost between her and Ceaser, her employment status and friendship with an exiled member of the crew have the potential to ruin her business relationship with Ceaser altogether.

Does Donna still work for Black Ink Crew? Read up on some of the tea Ceaser spilled exclusively to Distractify.

It’s no secret that Donna has had her struggles on the show as a tattoo artist. After starting as an apprentice, her goal was to become a full-time artist under the Black Ink umbrella. And while she did eventually have some clientele, her tattoo skills came into question after a few embarrassing missteps.

While many fans wondered why Ceaser continued to work with Donna, for him, it was much more than a working relationship.

“Sometimes my heart is one of my biggest flaws,” Ceaser shared exclusively with Distractify. “Sometimes you see things in people that they don’t see in themselves. With Donna, I saw something that was different. And I’m not one to just shun somebody because there is a learning curve. I’m more of a person that if you’re loyal to us, I’m going to be loyal to you.”

Of course, loyalty is a prerequisite to be in Ceaser’s orbit, but Donna’s tattoo skills have been a longtime topic of discussion. Not to mention, Donna has been trending on social media for a tattoo misspelling and a less-than-lovely ankle tat, both of which have negatively affected Ceaser's business.

“I tried to get through her learning curve, even with her tattoos,” Ceaser told us. “And I used to take a big hit on that s---. I’m not even going to tell you no lie. Every time she f---ed up a tattoo, it wasn’t like she f----ed up the tattoo, Black Ink f---ed up the tattoo. And she didn’t comprehend that me trying to build her up was me tearing myself down.”

Donna has been on a mission to get a certain level of respect from Ceaser over the years, but he has not been feeling it. 

“When it came down to that conversation that I need to show her more respect and all this other s--t, it got to the boiling point of how,” he told us.  “I helped you by hurting my own damn self. Every tattoo that I see on social media that’s bad, it’s coming out of your pocket. And at the end of the day. I don’t owe you nothing because I’m trying to help you. And that’s one of the biggest issues I’ve always had with Donna. She would make it seem that it’s a privilege to help her.”

After watching Walt admit to stealing from the shop, Ceaser immediately banned him from Black Ink — both the shop and the crew. While Puma did have a conversation with Ceaser to hash things out, Ceaser decided to leave things where they were. But the same can’t be said for Donna.

On Season 9 Episode 3, Donna and Alex decided to talk with Walt about the stealing situation. And of course, Ceaser found out about it all via Instagram and was not pleased at all. 

“The other day I said something in the meeting and I really meant it," Ceaser said to Donna on the series in regards to the staff having no contact with Walt. “And then I see on Instagram that y’all sitting here chillin’. I’m not trying to have any beef with anybody, but it feels funny to me. So instead of me having some f---ed up behavior while we’re down here, I just want to clear the air. Why the hell was y’all around Walt?”

In the clip, Donna looked very annoyed with Ceaser when he asked about her friendship with Walt, so chances are, things are going to go from bad to worse. Plus, the super-trailer for Season 9 showed a back-and-forth between Ceaser and Donna in which he told her that “she’s the worst tattoo artist in Black Ink Crew history.” Whew chile!

There is no telling if Donna and Ceaser will be able to get their friendship back in a good place. But with her gunning for a position at Ceaser's Black Ink Atlanta location and maintaining a friendship with Walt, she might not be welcome for long in the family.

Black Ink Crew airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on VH1.