'RHOA' Star NeNe Leakes Rips Luann de Lesseps Over 2018 'Blackface' In Battle With Bravo, Andy Cohen
Apr. 22 2022, Published 12:08 p.m. ET
Ex-Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes dragged Luann de Lesseps and other Bravo stars over their past acts of alleged racism — and is using the examples as part of her bombshell federal lawsuit against the network and Andy Cohen.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, NeNe filed suit against Cohen, NBCUniversal, Bravo, True Entertainment, and Truly Original this week. She accuses them of fostering a hostile and racist work environment.
NeNe claims to have reported her former co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann to execs for years, but nothing was ever done. She claims Kim made racist remarks both during filming and online.
The court docs listed an incident in 2008 where Kim said she didn’t want to “sit around with NeNe and eat chicken” at a BBQ.
Later, NeNe says Kim labeled the neighborhood where Kandi Burruss lives as “ghetto” and perpetuated a racial stereotype by questioning if Kandi needed a swimming pool at her home.
NeNe claims she told Andy and the producers of the remarks, but nothing was done. Instead, she says Kim got her own spin-off and continued to be paid by the network.
In the suit, NeNe points out she was one of the original cast members who launched RHOA in 2008. Her last appearance was in 2020.
In the court docs obtained by RadarOnline.com, NeNe laid out all the incidents that allegedly Bravo has ignored over the years. NeNe points to a April 2018 episode of RHONY where Luann showed up to a Halloween party with her “skin tone several shades darker than usual and wearing a two-foot-tall wig, claiming to be dressed as Diana Ross.”
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“The wig did not resemble Diana Ross’s classic curls. It was instead a stereotypical, offensive representation.”
NeNe says after Luann was called out for it, she denied “doing anything wrong and justified the cultural insensitivity. “Neither NBC nor Bravo publicly repudiated or disavowed de Lesseps’ racially-insensitive behavior,” the suit read.
Another incident with Luanna occurred in 2012. NeNe says during a wine tasting the RHONY star referred to Native Americans as “Indian” and “mockingly smacked her lips with her hand while emitting a “woo-woo-woo-woo-woo” war whoop in an insulting gesture.”
The RHOA star says instead of getting in trouble the network decided to cast de Lesseps on the Peacock spin-off, The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.
