Fans have been talking for more than a week now about NeNe Leakes’ rumored departure from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” after she tweeted a cryptic message about not wanting to work a job she hates anymore. Last week, fans exhaled a sigh of relief when Leakes showed up with Andy Cohen at the NBC Universal Cable Upfronts event to promote the brand, but fans may be disappointed again because Leakes recently dropped another hint that she may be leaving “RHOA.”
During a recent interview with Rob Shuter, Leakes talked about her dissatisfaction with the show and hinted that she may be starring in her own spinoff instead of returning to “RHOA.”
“I will still work for Bravo. I’m happy to stay on. We just need to work out some things. I’m happy to do some things. I don’t know if I’m happy to be a full time [cast member],” Leakes said.
When asked if she’d outgrown the show, Leakes explained that she feels the energy on set has just become too negative for her.
“I wouldn’t say outgrown because people would want to throw eggs at me. I would just say that I have grown and I’m at a different place in my life and I personally don’t want to go to work every day where you have to be negative. When I wake up every morning and I go off to be negative it just feels like it spills over into my regular life. You become what you work with,” Leakes said.
And Leakes’ working environment is anything but healthy. This past season, fans saw Leakes beef with Kenya Moore, Kandi Burruss, Porsha Williams, and even her former BFF Cynthia Bailey. She even got into a tense conversation with Andy Cohen over her homophobic comments on the show. And adding to the negativity is the increasing volume of criticism that Leakes has been receiving over her bad behavior on the series.
However, Leakes claims that fans still love her because she’s just keeping it real.
“I think people enjoy my realness, I think people enjoy how genuine I am. They can relate to what I’m saying. I’m very direct. Some people appreciate the directness and some people don’t,” said Leakes.
Well, Leakes certainly has lost a number of friends and fans, but she’s definitely still a star that people want to see, as well as a star that Bravo can’t afford to lose. –nicholas robinson
