Now we know what some have long suspected — “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” reality show is a scripted farce.
Scorned ex-cast member Lisa Wu Hartwell pulled the sheets back on one of Bravo TV’s most popular shows and says the executives created a monster after the original five members outperformed the previous editions of “Real Housewives.”
“I’m just not willing to perform or create something that isn’t there,” Wu Hartwell told VIBE, accusing producers of manufacturing drama to stir the pot, and retain ratings, forgetting that “Real Housewives of Atlanta” is a reality series.
According to Wu Hartwell, Bravo brass wanted her to begin questioning her husband’s post-NFL career on the show and question him as to why he is not working. In short, Bravo wanted her to get Ed to man up as the head of the family and find stable employment. What they didn’t know, Wu Hartwell said, is that her husband is making those ends.
So, when temperamental vixen Sheree Whitfield said on the show that she wanted to pursue acting, we didn’t know she may have meant actually acting on “RHOA.” But Wu Hartwell says that’s what’s been going down on the set.
“They have an idea of who they want you to be and you can only take that for so long and that’s why I said it’s time to go because I’m not willing to compromise my integrity. It’s like [not] all black people act this way and it’s unfortunate that we feed into those stereotypes sometimes,” claims Wu Hartwell. “I understand you don’t want to watch paint dry. I get it. But [there’s] a fine line between performing and acting a fool.”
Hartwell was unceremoniously ousted in favor of entertainment lawyer Phaedra Parks and former model Cynthia Bailey. Wu Hartwell says producers need to remember that people like her have lives to live after the cameras go off.
“You have to have integrity and stand up for what you believe in and I refuse to create things that are not there for the sake of their ratings because I still have to live my life when the show is over,” says Wu Hartwell. –terry shropshire
