NeNe Leakes Claims She Created ‘RHOA’ As She Issues A Warning Shot For The Cast
Now that Season 9 of the Real Housewives of Atlanta has officially wrapped – except the upcoming explosive reunions – fans are already looking forward to next year. In particular, NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak are rumored to be in talks to return to RHOA in Season 10. Producers haven’t confirmed anything, but that didn’t stop Leakes from lashing out at the show’s current stars.
Reality Tea reports that Leakes fired back with a warning after some cast members admitted they don’t want her back on RHOA. When asked about the other cast member’s comments, Leakes said, “That is unfortunate because I started the show and they will be off the show before I will.”
TMZ released video of the conversation, which occurred outside of Catch Monday night in WeHo. Cynthia Bailey was with Leakes at the time, so there’s at least one RHOA star that would love to see her return.
Leakes didn’t call anyone out by name but told reporters they should call Andy Cohen if they want answers. The comments could also be taken as confirmation that Leakes is interested in returning to the show, though she hasn’t said for sure where she stands. Leakes made an appearance on Season 8 but is not slated for a cameo in the current season.
According to Hello Beautiful, the current cast of the reality show includes Bailey, Phaedra Parks, Kandi Burruss, Sheree Whitfield, Porsha Williams, and Kenya Moore. It isn’t clear who is lobbying against Leakes and Zolciak’s return, though it would certainly affect more than one cast member.
An inside source revealed that some of the ladies even called Bravo executives to complain about the rumors. Not only do they feel like NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak would create too much drama, but they also don’t want to take a hit on their salaries. Bringing the two ladies back would cost a lot of money, which would likely be taken from the rest of the crew.
“We’re told there’s also a financial concern— that Kim and NeNe’s bloated salaries might chew up the budget, resulting in lower raises for the current cast,” an insider shared. “We’re told some of the current housewives feel dissed after working hard to keep ratings up —which they have, and now producers want to “add bulls***.”
That being said, Leakes isn’t hurting for money. In fact, Radio TV Talk is reporting that Leakes just paid off a federal lien worth $824,366. The IRS tagged Leakes for the money after she failed to pay taxes.
Kandi Burruss Says She's All For NeNe Leakes' 'RHOA' Comeback (VIDEO) https://t.co/kdp5eckbl6
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 19, 2017
Leakes built her fortune through regular appearances on Fashion Police, her longtime involvement on RHOA, and her own HSN fashion line. She’s also had cameos on ABC’s hit show, To Tell the Truth.
Of course, returning to RHOA full-time might be considered a step-back for the reality star. As Wendy Williams pointed out on her talk show, Leakes would be better suited with a show of her own like Zolciak.
“Never hated you, girl. I think you made more of a thing between me and you than there really was,” Williams told Leakes. “Here’s my deal. You don’t go back to [Real Housewives of] Atlanta. That is stepping down. You built that kingdom. What you need is your own show.”
As far as Zolciak is concerned, she recently wrapped her fifth season of Don’t Be Tardy. Zolciak is also slated to make an appearance on Season 9 of RHOA, though she hasn’t talked about returning to the show in a larger capacity.
Bravo has not announced when the new season will start casting. Fans can catch the Season 9 reunion shows of the Real Housewives of Atlanta Sunday nights on Bravo.
Tell us! Do you want to see NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak return for Season 10 of the Real Housewives of Atlanta? Let us know in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]
