Carlos King dropped part two of his juicy interview with Nene Leakes on Aug.1, and the former Housewife opened up about her discrimination lawsuit against NBCUniversal and Andy Cohen. She also went into detail about her painful fallout with Wendy Williams and former castmates on The Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA).
NeNe Leakes spills the tea on her lawsuit with NBC Universal and Andy Cohen
In April 2022, Leakes, 55, filed a lawsuit against Andy Cohen and Bravo, in which she accused the network and famous TV host of creating a hostile work environment. The reality TV maven claimed that Cohen and Bravo execs maintained “a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not encouraged,” the Hollywood Reporter noted.
During her candid sit-down with King, the mother of two reflected on the massive suit. While she still has “love and respect” for Cohen and the team at Bravo, she claimed that both parties never truly showed her “love” during her time on RHOA.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t experienced enough to know that in a lot of these corporate places, they don’t love you. I mean you’re here to work and then they can throw you out the door anytime they feel like it,” Leakes said. “All I ever wanted on this show was to be treated fairly.”
When King asked the Atlanta socialite where things stood between her and Cohen, she claimed she had “no hard feelings” against the TV personality.
“I hate that we’re in this place. I really wish there was a way for us to find our way back to each other because life is short, and you just don’t want to carry ill feelings for the rest of your life. It would be nice to work through the issues.”
The former Housewife claimed her RHOA co-stars switched up on her when she filed the lawsuit. She also alleged that she was “phased out” of the show.
After news of the lawsuit hit the media, Leakes said that her RHOA co-stars turned their backs on her. According to the star, some of the girls also experienced unfair treatment on the show and would often complain about the mistreatment they endured. The reality TV veteran claimed that she had a text message to prove it.
“It pains me and hurts deeply how I fought for some of the girls that are on the show and how they did not fight for me to stay on the show… That’s very painful,” the actress and author told King.
According to the interview, when negotiation time came around for Season 13 of RHOA, Bravo execs offered the star a “limited role” where she would only appear in a “maximum of six episodes.”
The former housewife was baffled by the offer. It was a turning point for Leakes, who alleged that Bravo had been trying to “phase” her out of the show for “a long time.”
“I realized that I wasn’t getting fair treatment. I knew it a long time ago. I had been watching it for so freaking long. And as time went on, my episodes got less and less and less, it was like a phase-out,” she told King.
After she approached the network’s big wigs about the skimpy offer, the team at Bravo claimed that they decreased her episode appearances because she was “unhappy” to be on the show. But that wasn’t true, according to the star.
“I’m unhappy that I got six episodes. I mean, shouldn’t I get more than six episodes.? Like why is it a phase-out? When there’s other girls who are not the same complexion as me and started as an original housewife? Why are they being offered 18 episodes and I’m being offered six episodes? What did I do?” Leakes questioned.
She also spilled the tea about her fallout with Wendy Williams.
Leakes was close friends with Wendy Williams before their rough fallout. The matriarch revealed that she “really liked” the famous talk show host during the height of their friendship. They would often have dinner and attend media outings together. But Leakes said she would get “confused” about their relationship when the former radio jock would talk shit about her on The Wendy Williams Show.
“Every time, it would be like we’re having a great time. And then suddenly, I would turn on the TV, and she would be saying something about me, and I’d be like, ‘We were just having a damn good ass time, like how do we get here now? Why is she saying that about me?’”
When Wendy’s health troubles began to impact her career, the housewife claimed that she watched the media star destroy her close friendships.
“I honestly felt like Wendy was in a place where she didn’t care about any of her friends anymore. And she would just say whatever she had to say. I hated that because I really liked her as a person. No matter what was going on on her show, no matter what was going on in her personal life. I just liked her as a person.”
That last time she spoke to Williams, the New Jersey native tried to repair their broken friendship, but Leakes wasn’t having it.
King shed a few tears over Leakes’ mistreatment in the industry. The star says she would only come back to reality TV for the fans.
Towards the end of the former RHOA star’s interview, King got super emotional while reflecting on Leakes’ mistreatment in the entertainment industry. King called Leakes the “most underrepresented reality TV star in the world” and praised the star for opening doors for other Black women in the industry. He also called the lawsuit with NBCUniversal “stupid as fuck.” He felt like the issue could be easily resolved with a simple conversation.
“It pains me because it doesn’t have to be this way,” the talk show host added.
Leakes revealed that she was offered a talk show deal by Debmar-Mercury, the same production company behind The Wendy Williams Show, but Leakes alleged that the company fell flat on the deal after her fallout with the former Hot 97 jock.
“Debmar-Mercury pulled my deal, and I no longer had a deal to do a talk show,” Leakes said. “I’ve had a couple of people come to me to do a talk show, but I’ve never been able to do a talk show since.”
If Leakes were to return to the world of reality TV, it would only be for the fans.
“I can’t say that I personally would just like to go back on Atlanta Housewives. However, the fans have all asked for me and the fans are the reason for the ratings for the show being as popular as it is. If I had to go back it would be 100% for the fans,” the star told King. “The check is not a bad check, although I think my check should be bigger.”
Watch the entire interview with NeNe Leakes above and check out part one below, where Leakes opens up about her son Bryson’s battle with addiction.
RELATED CONTENT: Mother Of Bryson Bryant’s Child Goes After NeNe Leakes Following His Drug Arrest — The Former Housewife Speaks Out
