NeNe Leakes, formerly of “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” accused Bravo of removing her from a flashback in Sunday’s episode after she sued the network. On Monday, Leakes tweeted her gratitude for the support she received from fans, saying, “I see everything you are sending to me!”
She also expressed disappointment that people can get away with such things, adding, “If only you really knew! If only you knew.” Fans noticed that Leakes was entirely removed from a flashback of the Season 4 opener from 2011, in which she previously appeared alongside other cast members.
NeNe Leakes reacts to being scrubbed from ‘RHOA’ after lawsuit
While some fans criticized Bravo for removing her, others expressed their support for Leakes, stating that she helped build the franchise and that erasing her legacy is a disgrace. Leakes filed a discrimination lawsuit against Bravo, Andy Cohen, NBCUniversal, and production companies last year.
She accused them of creating a racist and hostile work environment and blacklisting her for speaking out against the network. Although Leakes was in negotiations to settle with Bravo, Cohen, and NBCUniversal last year, she filed to dismiss her lawsuit “without prejudice” in August.
Former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes shaded Bravo for editing her out of a flashback in Sunday’s episode after she sued the network.
“Thank you tweetie pies for all of your DM’s and comments!” Leakes tweeted Monday. “I see everything you are sending to me!”
The former Bravolebrity, 55, added, “It’s really just a shame people can do these things and get away wit [sic] it.
“If only you really knew! If only you knew.”
Leakes’ post came hours after fans noticed that she was entirely removed from a flashback of the Season 4 opener from 2011.
In the original clip, she posed alongside Kandi Burruss, Phaedra Parks, Kim Zolciak, Sheree Whitfield and Cynthia Bailey as they each held a peach.
However, in Sunday’s episode of “RHOA,” which is currently in its 15th season, Leakes was scrubbed.
The move prompted fans to call out Bravo for deliberately trying to erase Leakes — who starred on “RHOA” from Seasons 1 to 7 and 10 to 12 — from the franchise in the wake of her discrimination suit.
“Lemme just say this Gregg… Nene didn’t just put RHOA on the map, she put ‘Real Housewives’ and Bravo on the map. They owe her everything. Trying to erase her legacy is petty, embarrassing and kinda solidifies her allegations of bullying,” tweeted one fan, referencing Leakes’ late husband, Gregg Leakes.
“WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL WAS THIS? You may have beef with Nene, lawsuits, or whatever. But this was BULLS–T at the highest level. @NeNeLeakes was the reason #RHOA went beyond season one. She’s the OG of ATL and there’s no amount of time that would erase that for me,” added another.
“Nene Leakes helped build not only #RHOA but the entire housewives franchise. The show would of been nowhere near as sucessful without her. To erase her completely from the shows legacy is a disgrace,” wrote a third critic.
“I am done with the disrespect towards Nene Leakes. I won’t be supporting or watching #RHOA anymore. The show is trash without her anyway ! If they put her back on the show lmk,” tweeted another fan.
TheFantasyTimes has reached out to Bravo for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Though NeNe’s absence seemed to upset many viewers, she has not had the best relationship with the network since leaving the reality show in 2020.
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Last April, she filed a lawsuit against Andy Cohen, NBCUniversal, Bravo, production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original and other executives, alleging they had encouraged and allowed a racist and hostile work environment.
NeNe said in the suit that she complained to execs for years about racist comments made by Zolciak, who denied wrongdoing.
The suit alleged that during the first season of “RHOA” in 2008, Zolciak, now 45, made a racially charged comment when the cast was planning to attend a barbecue.
NeNe claimed the “Tardy for the Party” singer responded with “words to the effect of: ‘I don’t want to sit around with NeNe and eat chicken,’” which the lawsuit said “perpetuated an offensive stereotype about African Americans.”
Additionally, NeNe claimed Zolciak used the N-word to refer to her and another “Housewife” after getting into a verbal altercation with them.
The following month, the Linnethia Lounge owner accused Bravo of blacklisting her for speaking out against the network.
“I was constantly being retaliated against, being blacklisted, not able to work, being silenced, and so, you know, it was difficult to do,” she told TMZ in May 2022.
That summer, Leakes seemingly took aim at Cohen, also 55, in a series of tweets.
“I am happy I was able to help all the other black women get job opportunities that are working for them,” she wrote last August, claiming the producer had stopped her from working “because I was a threat to his career.”
Although TheFantasyTimes learned last June that Leakes was in negotiations to settle with Bravo, Cohen and NBCUniversal, she filed to dismiss her lawsuit “without prejudice” in August.
