It is impossible to think about the RHOA franchise and not think about the impact Nene Leakes has had season after season.
Her contribution to pop culture is undeniable — Hell there isn’t a week that goes by that we aren’t using a Nene meme to make a point.
Like this new one that just popped up chile!
Nene just gave us a new reaction vid ? pic.twitter.com/KE09OBuh4n
— mahogany papi (@thetrillgent) July 25, 2023
Nene’s interview with Carlos King has been trending on Twitter and according to Collider no topic was off limit.
Money and Payments
NeNe shared with Carlos that she was only paid $10k for the entirety of season one of the series.
A season that she technically filmed twice, as she, Kim Zolciak, and Shereé Whitfield filmed a pilot that was shopped around before the series was picked up. When it was officially picked up, everything was re-shot, adding DeShawn Snow and Lisa Wu into the cast.
How much money did Nene make on season one of RHOA? pic.twitter.com/zUMsGDgrQY
— ?Prostitution Whore? (@Trehugger19) July 25, 2023
NeNe also shared that she did receive five thousand in additional pay for the reunion, but that was it.
Any trips, dinners, or parties thrown came out of their own personal pockets, and not Bravo’s.
As shocking as this sounds, it turns out that they weren’t the only ones that were grossly underpaid.
Bethanny Frankel shared that she only received $7,250 for her first season of RHONY, while stars on RHOC were only paid five thousand dollars for their first season.
It’s wild to think that their pay was so little, given the popularity Bravo gained because of it.
The underdog turned fan favorite
NeNe felt that she was the underdog in the early days of the series.
Kim and Shereé had more money than she did, which created this feeling.
And given that fans now know that Shereé intentionally left NeNe off the list in that infamous early episode, it’s easy to see why she felt like the underdog.
"Nene, you're not on the list."
Friends, we always suspected it but now we KNOW that Shereé's been "Spring, summer, September'ing" since Season 1! ?#RHOA ? #GyrrrlWhyYouLyyyim pic.twitter.com/2hBnJkZ5XT
— Mr. Mention It All ???? ?️? (@MrMentionItAll) July 25, 2023
Despite this, she chose to be 100% herself on the series, and that moment of not being on the list became a blessing in disguise.
It cemented NeNe as a fan favorite.
She says that the first four seasons were really about their personal lives, no implanted storylines needed.
As more housewives joined the show, NeNe became more wary of the new wives intentions.
The History of RHOA
RHOA was the first all Black ensemble reality series that had hit television since the Flavor of Love era, which had began fizzling out a year or so prior.
RHOA re-launched the Black reality platform, and NeNe felt initially very protective of the series.
She believes the series paved the way for more Black reality franchises like Basketball Wives and Love and Hip Hop.
NeNe has a clear idea of what she believes reality TV should be.
She believes it should be real, which is what drew people to the show in the first place.
When new wives started showing up, there became more crafting, like having “fake boyfriends”, and other unrealistic drama.
She was initially against Phaedra Parks joining the show due to having known her in the past in Athens, Georgia.
She warmed up to her, of course, but did notice that she and a few others did not want to show their authentic selves to the world.
Phaedra’s lies about when her baby was due led to a weird twist in the storyline.
Not knowing your own child’s due date is, frankly, impossible, unless you aren’t seeing a doctor at all.
Things shifted even more in season five when Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams joined the series.
When Carlos asked if NeNe felt that Kenya was the reason the show changed, she didn’t necessarily say that was the case, but the shift did happen around the same time.
Despite these shifts, NeNe stayed true to who she was, and while she has some regrets about things seen on the show, she does not regret her time on the series.
Nene and Cynthia Bailey
NeNe met Cynthia Bailey for the first time shortly after she was cast in season three.
She shares Cynthia was starstruck and nervous, and she felt like Cynthia may have been too quiet to join the cast at the time.
Things changed when she met Peter Thomas, and felt he was the polar opposite of the quiet Cynthia.
Peter was extra, and she shared that If Cynthia wasn’t with Peter, she may not have been cast on the show.
This is not to say that Cynthia couldn’t handle herself; in fact, she shared that the Cynthia she knows off-screen is very different from what she portrayed.
It appeared that Peter was the one in charge of their marriage, but much like her and her late husband Gregg Leakes relationship, Cynthia was the one in charge.
Fans often take what they see on the show at face value, and the ones who seemed louder seemed to be the bossy ones.
NeNe said that Cynthia could handle Peter, and read anyone for filth.
When asked about what happened to her and Cynthia’s friendship, she believes that Cynthia let other people’s opinions get into her head.
NeNe misses that friendship, but says it isn’t salvageable due to some alleged shady things happening behind the scenes.
When Carlos pressed further, she shares that she believes Cynthia was working with producers to get her fired.
Tbh a lot of what Nene said wasn’t new. However, her being THAT mad at Cynthia was a little unnerving considering Cynthia really loved her at some point too. I just can’t imagine good ol’ Cynthia being that nefarious but ??♂️ #rhoa pic.twitter.com/c19VB9TU6g
— Daily Bravo ? (@dailybravomail) July 25, 2023
Not only that, but it seemed as if everyone who joined the show would immediately try to come for her, something that she believes was orchestrated by the producers.
The nene haters are so funny, y’all be so mad when a Black woman knows her worth, what she brings to the table and is BOASTFUL about it ? pic.twitter.com/IkiuBR73V3
— Sean Garrette (@seangarrette) July 25, 2023
This certainly adds to the understanding of her current beef with Bravo and Andy Cohen.
Despite their efforts, everyone knows that NeNe was the star of the show, and it has suffered a lot since she left.
Nene Leakes is #RHOA From the ratings to her banter. She WAS the show. pic.twitter.com/dxu6n7aasQ
— ✨? ?????? ? ?✨ (@Prince_virgo914) July 26, 2023
Nene says she doesn’t watch the show but the women are sitting in a house that she built
AND I OOP! ?| NeNe Leakes tells Carlos King she hasn’t watched an episode of ‘Real Housewives or Atlanta’ since her departure.
“As far as I’m concerned they’re all sitting in MY house, the house that I built… and it seems like it’s tumbling down.” pic.twitter.com/mgHgdKllm9
— KenBarbie™ (@itsKenBarbie) July 26, 2023
Sheree reacted to Nene’s declaration with a tweet Tuesday seemingly correcting Nene.
OUR house….The beauty of an ensemble cast
OUR house….The beauty of an ensemble cast #RHOA
— Shereé Whitfield (@IamSheree) July 25, 2023
Fans however were quick to remind her that Andy Cohen said the same thing.
but andy said it pic.twitter.com/yGMZbCMojZ
— taay. (@taayanthony) July 25, 2023
and
Nene built RHOA, you cannot take that from her. You haven't even been on the show consistently, you were constantly getting fired and rehired chile. And the ratings now says alot. #Nene'sHouse pic.twitter.com/xfMXHBKcU1
— BlackBeauty?? (@BlackBeautyFBA) July 25, 2023
and
— Yasmine ?? (@yas_realitea) July 25, 2023
About Bryson’s Arrest
According to People Carlos King asked Leakes about Bryson’s arrest earlier this month.
The 33-year-old — whom Leakes shares with ex-Calvin Bryant — remains behind bars at Gwinnett County Jail on a $6,100 bond after being arrested on July 3 in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
He’s facing multiple charges, including violation of probation in two cases, possession of a scheduled II controlled substance, loitering/prowling and giving a false name, address or birthdate.
Asked how Bryson was doing, Leakes tells King, “I spoke to him on the phone, I think he’s doing OK.”
Leakes acknowledges that Bryson has an ongoing issue with drugs.
He was arrested, according to an incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department obtained by PEOPLE, after authorities found him in car with “a small plastic bag that contained a white powdery substance.” When field-tested, the substance “provided a presumptive positive for Fentanyl,” police allege.
“He needs rehabilitation,” Leakes says. “He needs a lot of counseling. Like many families out there, I have family members that are struggling with drugs and certain addictions. He has an addiction. He’s been struggling with it for years. He’s been in rehab for a couple of times and he still has come back out and relapsed.”
Leakes also explains that, even though it’s been a frustrating path to where she is now, she’s learned there’s nothing she can do to help Bryson until he’s ready to help himself.
“As a mom just to watch it, my hands are tied,” she says. “[There’s] not much that I can do. For people who have had children or family members that have been on drugs, they know that they have to be ready. They have to simply be ready.”
“I’ve spent so much money on trying to get Bryson where he needs to be,” she adds. “But every time I’ve sent him off is because I said, ‘You are getting your ass up and we are sending you off.’ But I learned through counseling myself that he has to say, ‘I’m ready to go,’ not me making him go. So until Bryson is ready to make a change, [there’s] nothing I [can] do.”
Over the years, Leakes had turned desensitized to Bryson’s issues, she admits.
“He is [33] years old, he’s an adult. He has three children — three beautiful children — who I adore. He has a wife. As a mother, I would never wash my hands of my child, right? But, I’m kind of numb to it because it’s been happening for so many years. I’m just really kind of numb to the situation.”
Watch the entire Interview below: