Evelyn Lozada Sues 'Basketball Wives' Costar for Defamation

Evelyn Lozada claims she's out on several endorsement deals because one of her "Basketball Wives" costars called her a racist bigot ... so she's now suing.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Evelyn claims Ogom "OG" Chijindu called her a racist bigot on social media ever since Evelyn posted a cryptic message to her more than 4 million followers on Instagram back on September 11.

Evelyn's message read, "Nobody watches you harder than the people that can't stand you." The post included a picture of a laughing orangutan. OG took offense to this and clapped back with a repost of her own that read, "Wow so now black women are monkeys. Everyone boycott this trash box you are disgusting." The post didn't appear to tag or mention anyone.

OG also trashed talked on Twitter: "And there it is..show your true colors you racist bigot. You called Cece 'Ling Ling' Jackie a 'cockroach' & now me a 'monkey.'"

Evelyn's now furious. For starters, she says she's of Hispanic descent and "her 2 children are African and Hispanic descent." Evelyn also says she's the chairperson of her foundation which raises money for abused women and has raised thousands of dollars for the Sauti Yeti Center for African Women. Evelyn claims "these are actions of a person that is not racist."

Evelyn says as a result of OG calling her a racist on social media -- which was subsequently picked up on various celebrity sites -- she's lost several brand deal endorsements. Evelyn's suing for defamation and infliction of emotional distress. She doesn't list an amount but clearly now wants OG to pay up.