NeNe Leakes burned her bridges when she left “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” — and then nuked them for good measure. But she tells us that, while she may be persona non grata at Bravo HQ, there are still a lot of cast members she calls friends.
“I was part of the [“Real Housewives”] franchise for a very long time so I can call most of them up. I can call Marlo [Hampton of “RHOA”] to say, ‘Hey girl.’ I’m cool with Drew Sidora [also of “ROHA”]. I can call Teresa [Giudice] in New Jersey. Any of them girls, if I really want to call them they pick up.”
Back in May, Leakes accused “Housewives” honcho Andy Cohen, 54, of racism and of blacklisting her from other TV networks. She alleged that the network had fostered and tolerated a hostile and racist work environment.
She filed a lawsuit claiming that said that Bravo and its parent company NBC oversee “a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and [where] inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged.”
The latest reports suggest that Leakes, 54, is now in talks to settle the discrimination lawsuit outside of court.
The Atlanta native recently appeared in BET’s “College Hill: Celebrity Edition,” in which she took classes at Texas Southern University.
She previously attended Morris Brown College, but she dropped out two years later because she became pregnant with her first son, Bryce. Now the former “Housewife” says she has regrets about not finishing and values the chance to try again on the reality show.
“Of course you regret it. Although I’ve had a lot of success, you need education,” she said, “It’s always something great to fall back on.”
“I [majored] in mass communications and I had a minor in journalism,” she told us, “So my aunt was always pushing for me to be her local news anchor. If I had to go back to college now I will probably go back for law.”
