Former reality star-turned-actress Nene Leakes is claiming that her former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” co-star Porsha Williams declined a chance to work together on a sitcom.
The two had secured guest spots on “The Upshaws,” but apparently Williams did not want to work with her. Leakes claims this decision was made because Porsha felt her “big sis” didn’t show care for her well-being during the recent dissolution of her marriage. It’s been weeks since Williams filed for divorce from her husband of nearly 15 months, Simon Guobadia.
The Nigerian businessman, who is also accused of fraud and falsifying Immigration documents, is also close friends with Leake’s on-again, off-again boyfriend of three years, African entrepreneur and men’s fashion designe Nyonisela Sioh. The two hung out most recently last week.
Leakes said she thought they were just having a public fight and it would blow over — but that was no reason to ditch the job, leading to speculation that she and Williams have current beef.
The widowed influencer, who lost her husband Gregg to cancer in 2021, took to her social media to express her frustrations about the whole ordeal. Moreover, she was hot under her collar because the Dish Nash host did not consider the ripple effect she could have caused for her as a Black woman if labeled difficult to work with in Hollywood.
In a series of videos, Leakes detailed what happened from soups to nuts.
She said her manager had contacted her to be on Michael Epps’ sitcom on Netflix and that the episode was being directed by former “RHOA” cast member and acting legend Kim Fields. According to Leakes, she was excited and could not wait to work.
The 56-year-old was told that she would be acting opposite Williams — which made her even more excited.
“We always have a good laugh when we see each other,” Leakes said about her friend. “So I was just like, ‘OK, so me and Porsha are going to kill this part.’”
Once she got to the set, dressed in her wardrobe, the showrunner had her go through her scenes and change her outfit because Williams was wearing a similar color. Leakes says in the video that she noticed during rehearsal she never saw Williams, nor did she see her after lunch or when they wrapped for the day.
“When I got to my hotel, production called me and asked me if I had any issues with any ‘Housewives’ because they were going to be recasting the other position,” Leakes recalled.
Eventually, Cynthia Bailey was brought in for the role that Porsha ducked out on — but having a great time filming did not erase how miffed Leakes was with her “little sister” when she heard why she left the show.
An insider told her that Williams had an issue with her.
“To hear that Porsha would go to a production company and say that she doesn’t want to work with me because we’ve had a lot of issues in the past [got me upset],” she said. “Mind you guys, I’ve not been a housewife in over four and a half years. Besides that … When you call a Black woman angry … difficult … that is a death trap … in the industry.”
Leakes went on to say, “We don’t have any issues that we can’t work together.”
“We are professionals,” she added. “We get on set and we work together. [If] you had to pick a housewife [you had an issue with] that certainly wouldn’t be with me. It would have been with Kenya. It would have been with Kandi. Those were your major issues. We’ve had petty things. We’re on a reality show, so, we obviously are going to have some sort of issues but we’ve not had anything where we could not work together.”
One of the past issues that came to light in March of 2019 was a series of nasty text messages allegedly sent from Leakes that Williams shared on Instagram. She claimed she received the text messages six days after giving birth to her daughter, Pilar.
“Fat shaming a new mom shame on you,” she wrote in her hashtags of the post with “Non supportive edgless bird. Is this your Queen?”
The messages show Leakes referring to her friend as a “lying … fat hungry b—h” after Williams claimed that Leakes “choked up, scratched up, one of the producers during a closet scene in her home during season 11.
She claimed the man had to go to the hospital, though video footage shows Leakes pulling the man by his shirt out of her closet after she adamantly asked them to stay outside.
'Y'all gonna make me get the fighting. " – Nene Leakes
— Mr. Mention It All 😉📺🇯🇲 🏳️🌈 (@MrMentionItAll) February 26, 2023
Y'all remember that time Nene & her brittle edges Wonder Woman'd that camera man to prevent him from going in her closet? 😂 #RHOA 🍑 pic.twitter.com/bnE1sL21KE
Kandi Burruss, who was also present, recalls the man holding his hands up and not fighting back but somehow “his tooth got knocked out” during the reunion.
Williams claimed she only shared the text Leakes spoke about on Instagram Live. The messages also show Leakes boasting about “securing the bags,” and claiming that she is “the HBIC that [Porsha] want to be!” The two continued on making remarks about each other’s “busted” or “box” body and “extra small baby ankles.”
In one final text from Leakes, she wrote, “Try dieting! You [know] that’s something you have never been good at.”
In 2021, when Leakes called for a boycott of Bravo, Williams did not side with her and the big sis took to X to reshare a post about the “Porsha’s Family Matters” star.
“They scared to loose their checks but you can’t let them get away with Discrimination, retaliation and blacklisting and unequal pay! There’s power in numbers. I will start calling EVERYBODY OUT,” read the post.
RT @donotcomeform: @NeNeLeakes @Porsha4real should be standing with you> They scared to loose their checks but you can’t let them get away with Discrimination, retaliation and blacklisting and unequal pay! There’s power in numbers. I will start calling EVERYBODY OUT
— NeNe Leakes (@NeNeLeakes) February 1, 2021
The off-and-on frenemies have had multiple public tiffs, but were able to fix them with a call, a sit-down, or sometimes just a text.
Leakes claims when she reached out via text, Williams told her that the reason why she didn’t want to work with her is because she didn’t check on her in the wake of her divorce news.
“Are you serious? You and your husband were just happy and smiling in Dubai,” the influencer says she responded, referencing that Williams and Guobadia had just been with the couple overseas in days before she filed for divorce on Feb. 23
“I thought you guys were having a fight and maybe you guys are going to get back together. I don’t know about y’all personal business. I don’t want to be nosy,” Leakes added.
Fans poured in with comments about their friendship, issues, and Leakes keeping it real.
“That’s the thing with people they be having issues with you and you don’t be knowing,” one person said.
Another wrote, “Say what u want about Nene she’s always had Porsha back even when Porsha is in the wrong, this is so mess up. Perfect example of when u think u cool with people whole-time they don’t really like u & stabbing You behind your back SAD.”
A few people suggested this was part of the storyline for Williams’ “RHOA” return for season 16 after exiting the show in 2021. One person posted, “Why is this more interesting than the last 3 seasons of Atlanta.”
“See… Nene was minding her business and then they poked the bear … yal better leave Nene alone please,” one other comment read.
Mama Leakes is so funny 😭😭
— TV Deets (@tvdeets) March 15, 2024
One comment called Williams “sneaky” and brought up how she approached leaving her husband.
An X user peeped how Leakes categorized her off-and-on friend, stating, “The bottom line is Porsha did not want to share the spotlight. That’s it … and professionals can share the spotlight. Porsha is not a star. She’s a bravolebrity. Be clear!”
Porsha has not responded to Nene’s accusations.
