When it was announced that Kim Fields was joining the cast of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” many fans were shocked and then surprised that the respected actress would consider joining the popular reality cast. As many predicted, Fields’ addition to the cast known for cattiness hasn’t been smooth. Fields sticks out like a fish on dry land, constantly questioning the antics of the group known for throwing shade on each other and continuous confrontations and cliques within the cast. The latest storyline shows Fields struggling to maintain her composure after several verbal slights from cast mate Kenya Moore.
We met Kim Fields decades ago as a child actress on a variety of comedy and drama series before she became a regular on NBC’s hit show “The Facts of Life.” Fields hails from an entertainment background; her mother Laverne “Chip” Fields was a well-known singer/actress. Although Fields’ face was seen on numerous television shows, it wasn’t until she joined the cast of “The Facts of Life” that she became a household name. People fell in love with baby-faced, roller skating “Tutti,” the youngest on the show. Later, Fields hit gold again with another memorable character in “Living Single’s” Regine Hunter, a superficial fashion buyer in constant search of a baller to save her. Audiences connected with Regine’s character and the all-star cast. After “Living Single,” we saw Fields in various television movies, and eventually she started directing and producing films and television shows.
On the other hand, Kenya Moore, unlike some of her reality cohorts, is a former beauty queen with some credible television background. After winning Miss Universe in 1993, Moore did several cameo television appearances before disappearing from the public eye. It wasn’t until Moore resurfaced on RHOA that fans realized there was much more dysfunction to the beauty than met the eye. Moore aired a lot of her familial background including the fact that her mother gave her away at birth and refused to acknowledge her as she grew up in Detroit, MI. Since joining the cast of RHOA, Moore has stayed afloat by constantly challenging others and playing the resident mean girl that isn’t afraid to confront anyone, all while looking amazing in lashes, extensions and designer gear. She is the ultimate reality star, very different from her newfound nemesis Kim Fields.
It’s no wonder Kim Fields and Kenya Moore don’t gel well on camera. It’s less shocking even that Fields wouldn’t translate well to the cast as a whole. Reality stars rely on their ability to say something more outrageous than the next in order to stay relevant on television. Besides having little to lose professionally, many reality stars are willing to showcase the imperfect parts of their lives that most of us aren’t willing to uncover. Celebrities like Fields on the other hand have gotten their opportunities due to hard work at a certain craft. It’s a very different journey to a similar destination, but it explains why true celebrities have longevity and reality stars that don’t put the hard work in become irrelevant after the season finale of their show. We wish Kim Fields the best, but we hope she won’t show up in the next season of RHOA. This is one role that she is particularly unsuited for.
