NeNe Leakes Addresses Unfair Treatment & Double Standards She Experienced During Her Time On ‘RHOA’: ‘In A Lot Of These Corporate Places, They Don’t Love You’

NeNe Leakes Addresses Unfair Treatment & Double Standards She Experienced During Her Time On ‘RHOA’: ‘In A Lot Of These Corporate Places, They Don’t Love You’

Despite dropping her lawsuit, ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ OG NeNe Leakes is sticking to her discrimination claims against Bravo!

In a recent interview with the show’s ex-producer, Carlos King, NeNe Leakes opened up about the sheer favoritism that she witnessed while serving as a top cast member of the celebrated franchise.

NeNe Leakes

If you didn’t know, last year, NeNe Leakes filed legal documents alleging that Bravo, its parent company NBC Universal, and host Andy Cohen (along with other key executives) violated federal employment and anti-discrimination laws.

In her proceedings, the 55-year-old accused the parties of upholding former co-star/friend Kim Zolciak-Biermann’s “racist comments” and:

“[helping] foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially sensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not encouraged.”

Kim Zolciak-Biermann

Reportedly, Leakes subsequently entered a joint stipulation dismissal with all parties, allowing her to close and reopen the case when/if she sees fit to do so in the future.

During the sit-down with King, when asked why she decided to sue, the reality phenomenon indicated that she often felt singled out while filming for ‘RHOA,‘ and she didn’t receive the same respect that she offered the network.

She said,

“I had a love and respect for them that I honestly don’t think they ever had for me. Honestly. And… to this day, I still respect them for what they do. They do it great. You know, you cannot take that away from them. They’re great at what they do.”

Leakes continued:

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t experienced enough to know that… in a lot of these corporate places, they don’t love you. I mean, you’re here to work, and then they can throw you out the door any time they feel like it.”

Andy Cohen, NeNe Leakes

The Georgia native then explained how, as Bravo grew, things changed within their business relationship, and her relationships with her co-stars.

She proceeded,

“All I ever wanted, on this show, was to be treated fairly. And a lot of girls and the people that work on the show and behind the scenes know that there were things that just were not fair… at all. And it pains me and hurts me deeply how I fought for some of the girls that are on the show and how they did not fight for me to stay on the show how much I fought for them to stay on the show.”

Leakes even elaborated on the fact that her objections and concerns were parallel to her fellow Housewives but many (seemingly) chose the silent card when she decided to speak up about them.

However, in season 13 of ‘RHOA,’ Leakes (who officially departed after season 12) was called to reappear but under a six-episode contract, which she was not in agreement with.

Although the TV star’s airtime had been cut significantly… at that point, she actually recounted feeling “shorted” in other areas of her Housewife experience.

She told King,

“I realized [a] long time ago [that something wasn’t right]. And I think that I’m not sure if [Bravo] realized that I realized that I wasn’t getting fair treatment. [laughs]”

Nene Leakes w/ late husband Gregg Leakes

She furthered,

“I had been watching [the unfair treatment] for so freaking long. And, as time went on, my episodes got less, and less, and less, and less. It was like a phase-out. You know? Oh, you start out with twenty or eighteen, then you went to sixteen, then you went to fifteen, then you went to twelve, then you went to ten, then you went to eight, then you went to six. And I’m thinking… ‘You guys are offering me six episodes?'”

Leakes, who initially joined the series in 2008 for its debut, extended:

“This has nothing to do with ‘I’m NeNe Leakes and I started from the beginning.’ It was just like, ‘Why am I being offered six episodes?’ Like, explain that to me! And the only explanation that I could get was that ‘You’re unhappy [on the show].’ So, in my mind, ‘You gon’ tell me I’m unhappy? How can you tell me that I’m unhappy?’ I’m not unhappy!”

Ultimately, Leakes alluded that her skin tone may have had something to do with the sudden drop-off of her appearance on the show.

She said,

“Why is it a phase-out when there’s other girls who are not the same complexion as me and started as an original Housewife–why are they being offered eighteen episodes? And I’m being offered six episodes? What did I do? Because I don’t know anything that I’ve done, ever–on this show–that no other Housewife in this franchise [has] not done.”

It goes without saying that Leakes is one of the most controversial (and recognized) Housewives to date, but could her harsh consequences stem from a tab on the colorism spectrum?

That topic is still up for debate for many.

If you’ve been an avid viewer of ‘RHOA,’ then you know that Leakes is notoriously known for dipping in and dipping out. While Leakes has stated that Bravo doesn’t seem to want to “talk things out” this time, she did maintain that she’s open to a reconciliation.

Would you like to see NeNe Leakes back with the ‘RHOA’ crew? Let us know in the comments below!