Source: Bravo / Getty
Andy Cohen, NBCU and Bravo executives are hoping to settle the discrimination lawsuit filed against them by Nene Leakes.
According to Page Six, an Atlanta judge agreed to giving the defendants a 45-day extension so that they could negotiate this matter with Leakes outside of court. A motion filed stated that due to contractual agreements, ongoing disputes are “already subject to arbitration in New York.”
Leakes reportedly doesn’t want to go forward with arbitration. Andy Cohen, Bravo and Leakes are now “in the process of negotiating this issue in an attempt to avoid the time and expense of a motion to compel arbitration.”
Arbitration refers to when an impartial third party helps two people settle their legal matter.
In her lawsuit, Leakes claimed that she experienced racism during her 12 seasons on Real Housewives Of Atlanta. She said while working in a discriminatory environment, her cries went unheard by Andy Cohen. Leakes said then former co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann was the culprit of the racism.
“From the day the series began filming, NeNe was the target of systemic racism from co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, which was tolerated by Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen and other executives,” Leakes’ lawyer David deRubertis said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Leakes claimed that during season one, Zolciak-Biermann said: ‘I don’t want to sit around with NeNe and eat chicken,’ which “perpetuated an offensive stereotype about African-Americans.” She accused Zoliak-Biermann of using the N-word to refer to her in 2012. That same year, Zolciak-Biermann allegedly made “racially offensive and stereotypical” comments about costar Kandi Burruss’ new home, called her neighborhood “ghetto” and said a racist comment about whether Burruss needed a swimming pool.
The 54-year-old claimed that Cohen, NBCUniversal, Bravo, production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original fostered “a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged.”
Leakes said she has also been blacklisted in the entertainment industry since exiting the show.
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