NeNe Leakes Files Lawsuit Against ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ Team, Alleges Racist Work Environment

Nene Leakes

NeNe Leakes Sues Saying Racism Accepted On ‘Real Housewives’

Former star of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” NeNe Leakes is taking her talents to court. The reality star has sued the companies behind the hit show claiming they fostered and tolerated a hostile and racist work environment.

Kim Zolciak

She alleges that she complained to executives about years of racist remarks from fellow housewife Kim Zolciak-Biermann, who is white. However, she claims only she suffered consequences.

Andy Cohen

In the suit, the defendants named are NBCUniversal, Bravo, production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original, executives from the companies and “Housewives” executive producer Andy Cohen.

The suit says,

“NBC, Bravo and True foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated – if not, encouraged,”

The suit lists specific examples. It alleges that during the first season housewife Kim Zolciak-Biermann, responded to the idea with “words to the effect of:

‘I don’t want to sit around with NeNe and eat chicken.’”

The suit also says during the fifth season, Zolciak-Biermann made “racially offensive and stereotypical” comments about the new home of housewife Kandi Burruss, calling her neighborhood a “ghetto”.

That same year, the suit claims, Zolciak-Biermann used the N-word to refer to Leakes and other of the housewives.

The suit says after Leakes complained to executives, however nothing was done.

“From the day the series began filming, NeNe was the target of systemic racism from co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, which was tolerated by Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen and other executives,” Leakes’ lawyer David deRubertis said in a statement.

The lawsuit alleges that her complaints of racism led in part to Leakes being forced off the show in 2020 before its 13th season.

Leakes was fired in 2020. The suit says,

“As the Black Lives Matter movement swept our nation, Mrs. Leakes — Bravo’s historically most successful Black female talent — should have been embraced by NBC, Bravo, and True,” the suit says.

“Instead, NBC, Bravo, and True forced her out of the ‘house she built,’ denying her a regular role.”

What are your thoughts about the lawsuit?