NeNe Leakes Accuses 'RHOA' Producers Of Season 12 Reunion Dress Sabotage
April 28 2022, Published 3:04 p.m. ET
Ex-Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes spilled all the behind-the-scenes details of the drama that went down with producers during Season 12 in her explosive lawsuit.
Earlier this month, the reality star sued Bravo, Andy Cohen, and the producers behind RHOA. She accused the defendants of fostering a hostile and racist work environment.
NeNe was one of the original cast members when the show launched in 2008 and last appeared on the program in 2020.
In her suit, she claimed to have reported multiple incidents to the network about her co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann making racially offensive remarks. NeNe said instead of taking action the network retaliated against her.
She said it all came ahead of her Season 12.
In court documents obtained by Radar, NeNe said she was “iced out and not regularly scheduled with the other housewives.”
“The scheduled provided to her by production consisted primarily of her filming without the rest of the housewives, often only with her own family,” she claimed.
NeNe said at the same time the producers were privately criticizing her for “supposedly not properly integrating with the rest of the housewives.”
The ex-RHOA star said she was put in an “intentional Catch-22.” NeNe claimed to have been denied “opportunities to film with the rest of her fellow housewives by being scheduled to film without them, but simultaneously criticized for not integrating into the group.”
NeNe said she believes the producers used other housewives to “marginalize and ostracize” her. She said these cast members would then report back to production “any issues with” her “in an effort to further contribute to the hostility of the working environment.”
The producers allegedly refused to modify NeNe’s schedule despite her supplying “evidence of weeks of schedules that isolated her from the rest of the housewives.”
Things reportedly only got worse. NeNe said for the Season 12 reunion the cast was told they would have to cover their own hair and makeup costs.
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“Together, they wondered if the non-Black shows were given such benefits, and they reported their concerns, to no avail,” the suit reads.
NeNe said she was also lied to and “told to wear a darker color when the entire rest of the housewives appeared on the reunion show wearing white.”
The suit said, “She stopped mid-show and changed to a white outfit to match her fellow housewives.”
Further, she said she was in “severe conflict” with co-star Yovanna Momplaisir who was only a “friend” on the show.
NeNe said she requested Yovanna not be allowed on the show. The reality star said she “explained that her mental health would suffer if Momplaisir was allowed to continue to attack her.”
She said despite promising Yovanna would not be present the producers invited her to the reunion.
“Apparently, NBC, Bravo, and True made an exception to the rule of deference to housewives’ requests of this nature knowing that Momplaisir would appear at the reunion to attack Mrs. Lakes – exactly as NBC, Bravo, and True wanted,” NeNe’s lawyer wrote.
NeNe said the ordeal took its toll on her and she left the reunion before it was completed. As a result, the star said her pay was docked.
Andy and producers have yet to respond to the accusations.
