This Reality Star Wants You to "Boycott" Her Show
NeNe Leakes asks viewers to turn off "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" following her exit.
NeNe Leakes has left The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but her drama with the show isn't over. On Dec. 21, Leakes asked fans to "boycott" RHOA in response to the way she says she was treated by Bravo. The 13th season of the reality show is currently airing, but Leakes requests that fans "turn off your TVs." The reality TV star, who had been on the series since it premiered in 2008, claims that the reason she left RHOA had to do with the offer she received from Bravo, which she says was less than what her white counterparts on other series in the franchise have been given.
This is not the first time Leakes has spoken out this way, either. In the time since she announced her departure in September, Leakes has shared a lot about the show and her role in it.
Read on to see what Leakes had to say about a boycott and everything else that happened after she left the series. And for more on Leakes, here's The Most Famous Real Housewives, Then and Now.
Read the original article on Best Life.
Leakes' call for a boycott of RHOA on Dec. 21.
"Y'all ready to start this boycott yet?" Leakes tweeted on Monday. "What has happened behind the scenes is WRONG! While others were being promoted, BLACK WOMEN who created shows, created genres, built franchise and built networks were being DEMOTED…TURN OFF YOUR TV'S." She added in a second tweet, "Sign the petitions when you see them, repost the boycott flyers when you see them, turn off your TVs."
On Dec. 22, she tweeted a link to a Change.org petition titled "Boycott Bravo TV/NBC UNIVERSAL" that mentions both The Real Housewives of Atlanta and another Bravo series, Married to Medicine, which also has an all-Black cast like RHOA.
To read about another situation involving a TV star leaving their show on bad terms, ABC Sitcom Star Quits, Calling Show a "Toxic Environment".
When she announced her departure from the series, she said it was an "emotional negotiation."
In a September video posted on her YouTube channel, Leakes said that she was leaving the show after contract negotiations didn't pan out. "I have been on an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation," she said. "There has been a lot of emotion flying from both sides. It has been hard, and I have made the very hard and difficult decision to not be a part of Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 13." She then reflected on her good times on the series and being part of a Black ensemble reality show.
For more Housewives news, check out This Beloved "Real Housewives" Couple Is Splitting Up After 21 Years.
She went on to make claims of discrimination.
Not long after announcing she was leaving, Leakes posted a series of tweets about the show, as well as another YouTube video. "I was the ONLY BLACK OG. My white counter parts were elevated and given full season episodes EVERY season. Each season i was given less & less," she wrote in reference to original cast members from other cities in the franchise. "The systemic racism is greater than you will ever know," she added. Leakes also called executive producer Andy Cohen "you ole racist," and she asked for suggestions for discrimination attorneys.
Leakes later said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that she might have been upset with Cohen, but still had "a lot of love for him." She explained that she "did not think the offer was a fair offer" in regards to Season 13.
Best Life reached out to Bravo for a comment on Leakes' allegations, but did not yet receive a response.
For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
She said she hopes it doesn't "go to [the] extent" of her pursuing legal action.
During an early October appearance on the Tamron Hall Show, Leakes said she was offered six episodes of the show instead of a full season, but that her salary would not be reduced. Host Tamron Hall pushed Leakes for a reason that the show would want to cut her out, and she said, "That's something I can't speak on." When asked if she would be pursuing any legal action, Leakes said, "I hope that we don't have to go to that extent."
She began to cry and explained that it was because she felt she was loyal and didn't get loyalty in return.
Leakes said she "helped elevate the entire franchise."
The same day that she called for the "boycott," Leakes posted that she would discuss the situation more in an Instagram Live video with civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Monday evening. She wrote on Instagram, "This has been a long time coming. If there are any other women out there who have experienced racial discrimination or mistreatment of any kind, please contact us."
In the Instagram Live, Leakes said it's not about her "bashing" and she appreciates the opportunities she's been given, but "there are things behind the scenes that have not been done properly" and she would like to sit down and discuss the situation with Bravo. "I think it is unfair to demote me and elevate my white counterparts and demote me as a Black woman, who helped elevate this network," she told Crump, noting she "helped elevate the entire franchise" of Real Housewives. And for more entertainment that's been criticized for racist portrayals, check out 10 Disney Classics That Have Been Called Out for Racism.
RHOA is no longer Bravo's biggest show.
For years The Real Housewives of Atlanta was Bravo's highest-rated program, but recently the ratings have dipped. (Only three episodes of Season 13 of have aired so far.) Now, Below Deck has surpassed RHOA as the network's top-rated program. And for more on the best of the best this year, check out The Best TV Show of 2020, According to Critics.
