Nene Leakes is choosing to bask in her soft life era as fans flood Bravo with criticism for its seeming attempt to erase her from the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” franchise’s legacy.
The network faced backlash when the latest episode, which aired on Sunday, June 11, rolled its opening credits showing the season 15 peach holders, only to flash back to the opening credits of season four from 2011.
In the latter clip, cast members Cynthia Bailey, Kim Zolciak-Bierman, Kandi Burruss, Shereé Whitfield, and Phaedra Parks are all shown. Notably missing is Leakes, who had been with the show since its debut in 2008.
According to Deadline, the episode was temporarily removed from the Peacock streaming app before it resurfaced without the flashback to the season 4 opening credit. Instead, it showed current housewives Drew Sidora, Kenya Moore, Burruss, Whitfield, Marlo Hampton, and Sanya Richards-Ross.
Related: ‘RHOA’ Fans React After Nene Leakes Confirms That She’s Not Returning For Season 13
But the move came too late, as social media users had already weighed in on the issue. They wrote:
“This was disrespectful!! Nene was part of putting #RHOA in the map! Not this erasure!”
“She suuuuuuuuued them. What do y’all expect??? It also could’ve been in the settlement that they wouldn’t use her likeness. Y’all really don’t think before tweeting lol.”
“They did NOT have to use that intro image and anyone saying otherwise is kidding themselves. It was shade!”
“That’s really sick! Knowing that Nene really carried that show on her backkkk, & to try and erase her legacy on the show is whack! I watched the show because of her iconic lines.”
Leakes also caught wind of the perceived slight. “Thank you tweetie pies for all of your DM’s and comments! I see everything you are sending to me! It’s really just a shame people can do these things and get away wit it. If only you really knew! If only you knew,” she tweeted on Monday, June 12.
Last year, the “Glee” actress sued Bravo, show creator Andy Cohen, NBCUniversal, and ‘RHOA’ production companies for allegedly fostering a racially-insensitive workplace culture that promoted inappropriate behavior. In the suit, she also claimed former cast mate Zolciak-Bierman made several racist remarks during her tenure on the series.
“From the day the series began filming, NeNe was the target of systemic racism from co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, which was tolerated by Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen and other executives,” her lawyer David deRubertis told The Hollywood Reporter.
In an interview with TMZ, the reality show veteran said, “The goals are to stop discrimination against Black women. Stop discrimination. That’s just the goal. Nobody want to go to work every day as a Black woman with blond hair and the head of the corporation call you a white woman.” Leakes ultimately dismissed the suit in August 2022.
On Tuesday, June 13, Leakes seemingly addressed those seeking commentary about the recent controversy and other unspecified topics.
In posts shared in her Instagram Story, she began, “I am moving into my soft era and my main focus is my happiness. And I’m not the kind of person that holds grudges, you know, like any human get mad for a little while, but then after that I kind of like to let it go and just kinda let God and move on.”
“I just feel like if you hold on to grudges, they hold on to you, and to your energy,” Leakes added. “I don’t want to comment on any of things everybody’s asking me to comment on. That’s just not my focus at the moment.”
At the top of this year, she made it known that, despite ending the legal battle, she has no interest in returning to the show that made her a household name. “I have no plans to come back. I feel like that ship has sailed, and I’ve grown in so many ways. It’s just not something I am interested in doing anymore. That’s it,” she told “The Breakfast Club.”
The Linnethia Lounge owner was the star of the long-running program until she stepped down to part-time status for seasons 8 and 9. She returned to full-time status for season 10, but following the end of season 12, she announced her permanent departure.
While she has been absent from “RHOA” since 2020, Leakes continues to make headlines for news regarding her love life, her sons, and fans’ pleas for her to return to the show.
