Filming for the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” has been shut down after a member of the production team tested positive for the coronavirus, multiple media outlets are reporting.
A statement released this week by an unnamed production staffer said, “The set follows rigorous COVID-19 safety protocols including contract tracing.” It continued, “Out of an abundance of caution, production is shutting down for two weeks.”
The Jasmine Brand, which first broke the shutdown news, reported that its source says the member who caught the virus was around a majority of the “RHOA” cast. “Everything is shut down right now,” the unnamed production staffer said. “They’re pausing everything until everyone can be tested and quarantined.”
The Bravo series is currently in its thirteenth season and now joins several other shows that have had to pause filming in recent months after a crew or cast member tested positive for the virus. The network’s “Real Housewives of New York City” had a partial production shutdown for two weeks in October after a crew member tested positive.
“RHOA” stars Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, Kenya Moore, Porsha Williams, and newbie Drew Sidora. As reported previously, Eva Marcille and housewives OG Nene Leakes will not be returning to the show.
Leakes confirmed via her YouTube channel that she would not be coming back for the thirteenth season, admitting that after a series of failed contact conversations, she would be parting ways with “RHOA.” She called the move a “difficult decision” to make.
“I have been on an extremely, extremely, long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation. There has been a lot of emotions flying from both sides. It has been hard, and I have made the very hard and difficult decision to not be a part of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ season 13,” she said in the clip.
She added, “I’m just so happy that I can say that I was a part of a genre that opened up doors for Black ensemble reality shows to step up and be a part of what we all know and love so much [about] reality TV.”
Her supporters, including some of her now-former cast mates, all expressed their regrets over her exit, including Kandi Burruss, who recently said during an interview with Steve Harvey that Nene “was a great addition to the show.”
