NeNe Leakes threw shade at current Bravo talent by calling the “Real Housewives” franchises “starless.”
“These girls on these shows, they’re just not stars,” the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum said on Tuesday’s episode of “The Breakfast Club.” “If you really look at it, all of the stars that were on any of these franchises, they took them off and everybody that is left is starless.”
“Ooooh, honey! Yes for the starless Robyn Dixon child,” Leakes said, adding, “Starless honey, mmhmm.”
When one of the show’s co-hosts, Charlamagne tha God, pointed out that the Potomac franchise got “high ratings,” Leakes wasn’t convinced.
“Oh, does it? When was the last time you looked at those ratings?” she jabbed.
Leakes, 55, then admitted that she doesn’t watch the show but that she does watch some of the clips that end up on social media.
“I’m not really a TV watcher. I don’t watch TV at all,” she claimed.
The radio host disagreed with Leakes, saying that Dixon and her “Reasonably Shady” co-host Gizelle Bryant were, in fact, stars. Their podcast is notably produced by iHeartRadio, which is also the parent company of Power 105.1 FM, where “The Breakfast Club” airs.
“They’re not famous,” Leakes said of the two Bravolebrities. “They may be known … there’s a difference between famous and known. And so, I don’t know about famous but maybe they’re known for a minute.”
And when she was asked about her former “RHOA” co-star Kandi Burruss, Leakes admitted, “I will give Kandi, yeah, but everyone else … I don’t see it. I think they’re known.”
Moving on, Leakes also said that she didn’t even know who was still on “The Real Housewives of New York City” and pointed out that the show has been going through some serious drama.
Advertisement
As for “RHONY” star Eboni K. Williams, Leakes said, “I don’t know her either. Is she famous or is she known?”
When Charlamagne made the point that fame is subjective, Leakes finally gave in.
“I guess, honey. I guess, child. Well anyway, since Envy and Charlamagne say Robyn is famous, I take it back, Robyn. Famous Robyn Dixon and Juan Dixon — sorry, my fault,” she said.
“I’m not sure what she meant when she came on this beloved program and said ‘I don’t know her.’ That’s factually not true. That is just a lie,” she said.
However, Williams, 39, did agree with Leakes on the broader point of being “known versus being famous,” adding that there are “Housewives” that are simply famous for being part of the franchise and referred to as “Bravolebrities.”
Leakes was part of the original cast that launched the Atlanta franchise in 2008. She took a break from the show during Seasons 8 and 9, only to return for Seasons 10-12. She then left the show for good in 2020.
She subsequently sued Andy Cohen, Bravo, and the network’s parent company, NBC Universal, for discrimination and claimed that the “Housewives” tolerated a hostile and racist work environment.
Leakes alleged she was “blacklisted” from getting other jobs in the entertainment space after making the allegations. She ultimately dropped the lawsuit in August 2022.
