The bombs keep dropping. NeNe Leakes’ lawsuit against Bravo shocked the reality tv world with her allegations of racism. In the suit, she claims that “NBC, Bravo and True foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged.” NeNe is alleging that her Real Housewives of Atlanta costar Kim Zolciak-Biermann repeatedly made racist remarks in front of her. When NeNe complained, she was ignored. She also asserts that she was punished at Bravo and blackballed from the industry for speaking out.
Now Radar Online is sharing additional details of NeNe’s alleged treatment revealed in the lawsuit. According to NeNe, things really soured during her time on season 12 of RHOA. She claimed that producers told her to wear a different color dress than the rest of the cast to the reunion. In addition, she told them that having guest star Yovanna Momplaisir present would affect her mental health. Producers had Yovanna attend the reunion anyway. The reunion ended with NeNe walking off.
After the reunion, NeNe said she received a call from Bravo’s Executive Vice President of Production, Shari Levine. She allegedly told NeNe, “I want you to sit out for Season 13. You can come back on Season 14.” NeNe said she was shocked. Especially given that Andy Cohen had previously stated that “RHOA is the house that NeNe built.” When she asked for additional information, she was given “no answer that made any sense.” Shari allegedly told her later that it was because she walked off at the reunion.
The suit contends, “But this happens with some level of frequency, and the housewife is not typically banished. This excuse smacked of more differential treatment. Other (white) housewives have walked off reunion sets only to either return the next year or, alternatively, receive their own spin-off show. The call ended without any agreement or mutual understanding.”
NeNe claims that one week later, Shari called her back to reiterate that she would not be on season 13. It was at that time that NeNe was supposedly offered a developmental deal. It was for a show that would feature her club, Linnethia Lounge. NeNe’s lawsuit states, “This development deal came with a paltry one hundred- and fifty-thousand-dollar ($150,000) offer.” Which NeNe found insulting given her tenure with the network.
Court documents reveal that NeNe also “begged” that if she was to be kicked off RHOA, “at least give her a sendoff that was appropriate in light of her years of service.” According to NeNe, Shari “played dumb” acting like the “creative side of the network could not figure out how to do this.”
Finally, producers offered NeNe a demotion of a “mere” 6 episodes in season 13. Her lawyer stated, “They still offered no legitimate explanation for why. Indeed, the varied explanations shifted with time. Initially, Mrs. Leakes was told that she needed to sit the season out because she had walked off the reunion show.”
The suit continues, “Later during negotiations, the executives suggested part of why they wanted her to sit out was because of an ill-conceived comment Mrs. Leakes made to a heckler at a comedy show she was performing at. This was just another instance of dredging up stale excuses: these events occurred back in October 2017.” NeNe reached her breaking point in August of 2020 when she was left out of Bravo’s special on race. It was then that she called out Andy and Bravo on social media. Additionally, she called for a boycott of the network.
In alleged retaliation, NeNe said that Bravo went back on the developmental deal about her lounge. Bravo then “cut-off future negotiations for continued employment on RHOA or otherwise.” After that, NeNe claimed she received a call from a Bravo executive. They supposedly told her, “NeNe, I thought we could work this out but you called Andy a racist.”
The lawsuit states, “NBC, Bravo, and True have an unwritten rule: do not accuse us of race-based misconduct. And, certainly, do not accuse Cohen of it – even if he participated in, fostered, and turned a blind eye for years to it. Once Mrs. Leakes did that, her fate was sealed and her career with NBC, Bravo, and True was over. It was just a matter of time.”
TELL US – DO YOU THINK BRAVO CUT TIES WITH NENE BECAUSE SHE CALLED OUT ANDY AS RACIST? DID THEY DROP HER DEVELOPMENTAL DEAL IN RETALIATION? ARE YOU TEAM NENE OR TEAM BRAVO?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
