Heavy/NBCUniversal Housewives Update
Original “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member NeNe Leakes has always been known to share her opinion, and after being edited out of a new RHOA episode, she has something to say.
The June 11 episode of RHOA, “Rap Sheets and Old Beefs”, opened with a montage highlighting the ups and downs between current cast members Kandi Burruss and Marlo Hampton (who began on the show in seasons 2 and 4, respectively). The first clip flashed all the way back to season 4 in 2011 to show when Burruss and Hampton first met, however some eagle-eyed fans noticed that Leakes, who was a main cast member for the first seven seasons of the show (before returning again for seasons 10 through 12), had been edited out of the title card where each of the main cast members held up their peach.
With the episode now available to stream on Peacock, the entire season 4 title card has since been removed. See the original title card and the edited version below.
NeNe Leakes Reacts to Being Edited Out of RHOA
Many fans reached out to Leakes online to make her aware of the Bravo editors’ decision to erase her from the episode as it aired, and Leakes issues a June 12 tweet with her reaction, although she never directly stated what she was referencing.
“Thank you tweetie pies for all of your DM’s and comments! I see everything you are sending to me!” Leakes wrote, “It’s really just a shame people can do these things and get away wit it. If only you really knew! If only you knew”.
Fans rallied around Leakes in the replies. One fan tweeted, “We love you NeNe! You will ALWAYS be the woman that built Bravo!” and another wrote, “NeNe we will always love and support you!!! we have your back!! you don’t need them, THEY need you!”
One user pushed back, writing in response to Leakes, “Girl I would’ve edited you out too if you sued me”.
Why Was NeNe Leakes Edited Out of RHOA?
Although the official reason is unknown, many users believe that it was Leakes’ April 2020 lawsuit against Bravo for discrimination that was the reason behind her being edited out of the recent “Real Housewives of Atlanta” flashback moment.
Leakes’ lawsuit claimed that the RHOA star complained to the network about racist comments made by her co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, but that the network “did not terminate their relationship with Zolciak-Biermann, nor take any other meaningful action to put an end to her racially-offensive behavior.”
Leakes’ lawyer said at the time, “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.”
NBCUniversal, Bravo, production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original, and several executives including Andy Cohen were all named as defendants in the suit, which Leakes dismissed in August 2020.
Despite signs from the network that Leakes may not be invited back to the show any time soon, Leakes herself has shared sentiments that she would be open to a return to RHOA, even after her lawsuit. In December 2022, Leakes retweeted a fan who wrote, “It’s Amazing to me how everyone can get an opportunity to return to these housewives shows but @NeNeLeakes when we know that’s Housewife a Royalist. Where is the grace?” in response to another message about Brandi Glanville’s return to the network.
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