RHOA: How NeNe Leakes Earned The Villain Label Of The Franchise
Longtime fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta are well aware of NeNe Leakes' drama-filled history on the show. As the last OG housewife on the franchise, NeNe spent years reigning as Atlanta's top shade thrower. After getting into a number of showdowns with almost every member of the cast, NeNe earned herself the label of the show's villain. Here's a look back at the encounters that led to her bad girl title.
Season one of RHOA introduced NeNe while she was in the middle of a feud with Sheree Whitfield. The two would often talk and hash out their differences. But overall, their frenemy relationship resulted in some of the most popular verbal spats on the show. NeNe's infamous "I'm very rich b**ch" line was coined as a result of an argument she had with Sheree over NeNe allegedly calling a club promoter to get Sheree removed as host of an event. All the while, NeNe's failed friendship with Kim Zolciak-Biermann spilled over into Kim's departure from the show after five seasons. When Kandi Burruss joined the show in season two, NeNe managed to get into an almost-physical altercation with Kandi during one of their first encounters.
Cynthia Bailey produced a friend contract to avoid ever dealing with a fallout with NeNe, but it still couldn't save her from feeling NeNe's wrath after Cynthia befriended Kenya Moore. NeNe and Kenya never got along after Kenya's introduction to the franchise in season six. The two had a number of filmed spats that resulted in feuds with other housewives. Claudia Jordan only appeared on the show for one season, but she managed to get into it with NeNe due to her close ties to Kenya. Former housewife Phaedra Parks got called out by NeNe at her first reunion over NeNe's claims of not knowing Phaedra despite them both being from the small town of Athens, GA.
As NeNe continued to create new feuds on the show, her salary only increased. After she started getting cut from scenes, she revealed the $120k she was receiving for each episode, Reality Blurb reported. Her role as the show's villain quickly turned her into the highest-paid housewife on all the franchises. Before she decided to exit the show after season 12, NeNe managed to get into onscreen quarrels with almost every housewife on the show. Some of her other notable showdowns include her spat with Marlo Hampton where she was called out by her former friend in front of the entire cast. NeNe and Porsha Williams had an emotional reconciliation after spending a few years at odds with each other over accusations of not being supportive friends to each other.
When NeNe announced her departure in September 2020, it was speculated that she had actually been fired from the show. There were rumors she was being paid too much and producers wanted to bring in new faces. With NeNe being the last remaining OG on the franchise, her time to leave had come. However, despite her exit from RHOA, her legacy will live on forever as the show's top villain. Kenya and Letoya Ali will have to work a lot harder to surpass NeNe's reign.
Source: Reality Blurb
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