Former “Real Housewives of Potomac” star Monique Samuels has weighed in on NeNe Leakes’ discrimination lawsuit against Bravo and Andy Cohen.
In her lawsuit, NeNe accused them of racism and of fostering a hostile working environment.
“NBC, Bravo and True foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged,” the filing reads per THR.
Monique is siding with NeNe on the issue:
“As far as NeNe with the network, she absolutely has a point. She absolutely has a point because at the end of the day, when you look at the housewives shows that have women of color, you only see them from one side,” Monique said on Instagram Live.
“If you look at the white housewives show, you’ll see each one as a wife, as a business owner, an entrepreneur. You’ll see them as a Philanthropist, you’ll see all of those things in each and everyone,” she continued.
Monique feels that Bravo fails to show Black women as full people on their respective shows.
“They only show one aspect for each different person. So, it’s almost like the Black housewives can’t be a full person,” Monique said. “They have to be one or the other, they have to only be the wife. They have to only be the mother. Only be the entrepreneur and the businesswoman. You can only be this, that, or the other. They don’t show us as full people.”
NeNe’s claims stem from as far back as 2008.
“As the Black Lives Matter movement swept our nation, Mrs. Leakes — Bravo’s historically most successful Black female talent — should have been embraced by NBC, Bravo, and True,” the complaint reads in part. “Instead, NBC, Bravo, and True forced her out of the ‘house she built,’ denying her a regular role.”
NeNe claims that during the show’s first season, castmate Kim Zolciak said that she didn’t want to attend a group barbecue, adding, “I don’t want to sit around with NeNe and eat chicken,'” which is an incident “RHOA” viewers are already aware of.
