The second installment of Nene Leakes’ interview with Carlos King went live Tuesday, and viewers got a glimpse into Leakes’ fallout with NBCUniversal, Bravo and “The Real Housewives” executive producer Andy Cohen.
In the last episode, Leakes discussed her saving Porsha Williams from being dropped from Season 6 of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and how overly-produced storyline became once Kenya Moore and Phaedra Parks’ joined. Plus, Leakes also addressed Shereé Whitfield removing her from her birthday party guest list in Season 1.
The second part of King’s interview with “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” O.G. delved deeper into Leakes’ thoughts about the reality show, her experiences as a cast member on it and how her life’s been since then.
From who is and isn’t a star on “RHOA” to Leakes thoughts on Marlo Hampton finally getting a peach to Leakes’ belief that was blackballed, nothing was off-limits. By the end of the conversation, the two shared laughs, tears and ideas for new business ventures.
Here’s the five biggest takeaways from part two of King’s interview with Leakes.
- Nene Leakes gets real about her legal battle with NBCUniversal, Bravo and Andy Cohen, and the unfair treatment she said she experienced.
While Nene Leakes still has “love and respect” for NBCUniversal, Bravo and Andy Cohen, she said the treatment she received during her time on the show — and after she sued the trio — was very different in comparison to the ways in which her “RHOA” costar Kim Zolciak, or even her fellow former housewife Bethenny Frankel (“The Real Housewives of New York”), were treated.
While Frankel spoken out in criticism of the Bravo franchise and its producers, Leakes said Frankel still gets invited to Cohen’s live talk series “Watch What Happens Live!” As for Zolciak, Leakes felt her costar was able to get away with frowned-upon acts like skipping out on cast trips.
“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.
Leakes went on to say that none of her “RHOA” cast members had her back in the midst of her issues with the network despite them all experiencing unfair treatment. Prior to her departure, Leakes said production started to cut her air time down. What was a regular 20-episode guarantee became 15, then 8, then 6. “It was like a phase out,” Leakes said. She added that the show’s reason for chopping her episodes was because they she was “unhappy.”
“You’re going to tell me that I’m unhappy. I’m not unhappy,” Leakes said. “I’m unhappy I got six happy episodes. I mean, shouldn’t I get more than six episodes?”
2. Nene Leakes would return to “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”…strictly 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,” said Leakes. “The check is not a bad check, although I think my check should be bigger.”
3. Nene Leakes said “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” could be saved, but it may be time for all-new, completely different cast.
It’s no news, and some might even say it’s no shocker, that “RHOA” took a major dip in ratings after Nene Leakes’ exit. According to former “Housewives” producer Carlos King, “RHOA” went from the No. 1 show on Bravo to spot No. 3 underneath “Below Deck” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
Watching the show’s decline has been painful to watch for Leakes, who said she’s confused by Bravo’s failure to diagnose its issues.
“It’s shame, and it’s a shame that [producers] don’t get what it needs,” Leakes said, mentioning that she believes Bravo set the show up with a cast that doesn’t have star quality to ruin the show’s ratings. “That’s the real shame. They don’t really understand what the show needs.”
With no “anchor” of a housewife for the rest of the cast to see as a guide, the reality star said what might help the show is an all-new cast. No one on the series currently has the “it factor” from her perspective.
Leakes did give some props to Drew Sidora, who she said she enjoys on the show.
4. The stars and the star-less: Nene Leakes broke down what housewives actually have star quality, and shared whether or not Marlo deserved a peach
According to Nene Leakes, there are no stars on the current “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast.
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of the girls that are on the show currently. Just meeting them in-person they weren’t entertaining…I just don’t see any stars on the show,” Leakes said.
However, Leakes praised Marlo Hampton, a previous a “friend of the show” who now holds a peach of her own. She called Hampton the most entertaining on the series, and added that Hampton earned her peach. Leakes also pointed out that Hampton’s friend-to-regular-cast success should send a red flag to production and the other ladies.
“If Marlo is the biggest entertainer on the show, they have got to do something,” Leakes said.
She labeled Kandi Burress “overrated and overpaid,” said Porsha Williams has “star potential” and said Kenya Moore’s lackluster performance was due to her being bored with the cast members she’s working with now.
“There’s a lot of girls who are not working,” Leakes said. “Like Kenya for instance, we know that Kenya can give. We know that she can read. We know that she can come in and do a whole scene, but we’re not seeing that. And I think that is because she’s not interested, because there’s no interesting talent for her to be interested in.”
Just to give a quick rundown, here’s Leakes’ thoughts on some notable housewives’ stardom, or lack thereof.
- Gizelle Bryant (“The Real Housewives of Potomac”) — star-less
- Robin Dixon (“The Real Housewives of Potomac”) — star-less
- Kenya Moore (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”) — somewhat of a star, but feels her “mean side” rubbed audiences the wrong way
- Phaedra Parks (“The Real housewives of Atlanta”) — not a reality star, but an “entrepreneur star.”
- Kandi Burress (“The Real housewives of Atlanta”) — a supporting star, not a star
- Claudia Jordan (“The Real housewives of Atlanta”) — star-less, but Leakes acknowledged that Jordan was the only housewife who could challenge her with a good read.
5. Blackballed, her beef with Wendy Williams and no new bags. Nene Leakes and Carlos King break into tears over how the industry has treated Leakes.
Many have questioned why Nene Leakes hasn’t pivoted onto a talk show, podcast or even a new reality series. Leakes shared that since legal woes with NBCUniversal, Bravo and Andy her opportunities became scarce or were dropped completely. Leakes also opened up about a talk show deal she had in the works with Debmar Mercury, which produced “The Wendy Williams Show.” After her meltdown with the longtime talk host, the conversations Leakes had with companies went silent.
“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.”
Carlos King broke down into tears over how Leakes has been treated over the years, triggering emotions from Leakes. He called Leakes’ entire ordeal with NBCUniversal not a “big f—g deal,’ and said the issue could be easily resolved with a simple conversation. Leakes concluded the conversation saying she’s open to opportunities, even King’s “Love & Marriage” series on OWN. But that would only be an option for her if she found a love interest. In the meantime, fans could find Leakes and King on a tour together, a pitch King suggested.
Watch the full interview below.
