NeNe Leakes burned her bridges when she left “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” — then slammed them for good measure. But she tells us that even though she’s persona non grata at Bravo’s headquarters, there are still a lot of cast members she calls friends.
“I was part of the [“Real Housewives”] franchise for a very long time so I can call most of them. I can Marlo . to call [Hampton of “RHOA”] to say, “Hey girl.” I’m cool with Drew Sidora [also of “ROHA”]. I can call Teresa [Giudice] in New Jersey. Any of those girls, if I really want to call them, they pick up.’
In May, Leakes accused “Housewives” honcho Andy Cohen, 54, of racism and of blacklisting her from other TV networks. She claimed that the network had promoted and tolerated a hostile and racist work environment.
She filed a lawsuit stating that Bravo and its parent company NBC oversee “a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and [where] inappropriate behavior is tolerated – if not, encouraged.”
The latest reports suggest Leakes, 54, is now in talks to settle the discrimination case out of court.
The Atlanta native recently appeared in BET’s “College Hill: Celebrity Edition,” in which she took classes at Texas Southern University.
She previously attended Morris Brown College, but dropped out two years later because she became pregnant with her first son, Bryce. Now the former “housewife” says she regrets not getting finished and appreciates the chance to try again on the reality show.
“Of course you regret it. Although I’ve had great success, you need education,” she said, “it’s always a great thing to fall back on.”
“L [majored] in mass communications and I had a minor in journalism,” she told us, “So my aunt always insisted that I become her local news anchor. If I have to go back to university now, I’ll probably go back for law.”