Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment/Celebrity News
Celebrity News

‘The Shade of It All’: Tanya Sam Seemingly Takes Dig at Nene Leakes with Throwback Photo

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

A recent photo of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Tanya Sam uploaded to her Instagram page has fans speculating it could be a little shade toward her onetime friend Nene Leakes.

On Instagram April 15, Sam posted an image from a 2018 photo shoot that was shot by Atlanta photographer Elliot Liss.

“❤️Just hanging out in my closet ❤️ #SafeSpace #AllAreWelcome #itsTanyaTime,” the director of partnerships at tech startup/venture capital fund TechSquare Labs wrote in the caption.

Tanya Sam
Tanya Sam. (@itstanyatime/Instagram)

Fans felt the moment was a call back to Leakes going after Kandi Burruss and Porsha Williams for going inside her bedroom closet at her “Bye Wig” party when she told them not to do so.

After the episode aired in March, Leakes went on Instagram Live and defended her reaction to her co-stars going in the closet, which saw her race after Burruss and Williams, pulling a cameraman who began going into it in the process.

“That’s how it escalated,” she explained. “These girls have a habit of disrespecting each other’s home. … You not gon’ disrespect my house at all. … I’m from the South, first of all. When somebody say, ‘Come in and sit right here,’ you come in and sit right here. You don’t come in and you start wandering all over their house.”

While no one was welcome inside Leakes’ closet, Sam made it clear she didn’t mind anyone being in hers. It’s something fans noticed from the hashtag she included: #AllAreWelcome.

“Subliminal shade 😫😫😫🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾”

“The shade of it all!!! 😂😂😂😍😍😍”

“Great shade!!! I love it 🥰”

“All are welcome 😹😹😹”

“I absolutely love you. I hope you are a new regular. When you live your life no need to be rude or shade anyone. I’d love to have tea in your closet. Love the hashtag 🤣🤣”

“Oh you trying it don’t do that I thought you was one of the cool one. Oh k you try for the 🍑”

Sam also took time to respond in kind to some of the comments that praised her caption and photo.

Tanya Sam
Tanya Sam

Sam has been holding her own on “RHOA” this season. During the latest episode of the reunion, which aired Sunday, she even took a dig at Leakes’ closet debacle when she quipped about not knowing what’s in there since Leakes keeps people out of it.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top