After working for The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Nene Leakes filed a lawsuit against her production companies, citing a hostile and racist work environment.
The case was initiated in the city of Atlanta.
According to court documents, the owner of Linnethia Lounge claimed that NBC and its Bravo network “maintain a corporate culture that is insensitive to black talent and encourages racially abusive behavior that goes unpunished.”
Leakes went on to claim that the lack of diversity in the company’s corporate structure contributed to insensitivity to people of color, further claiming that the Real Housewives franchise is “racially segregated” and encouraged them to relate to different stars of the show. (We reached out to Bravo and Cohen for comment, but they didn’t respond.)
“For many years, NBC, Bravo and True have created a corporate and workplace culture that tolerated and tolerated, if not encouraged, offensive and insensitive behavior, statements and actions of their employees on racial grounds,” the court documents say. “This is evident from repeated cases of such behavior on the part of their employees and actors without any significant consequences, corrective actions or corrections. In fact, it’s as if NBC, Bravo and/or True just ignored and turned a blind eye to the fact that the talents who work in their shows also work in their workplaces.”
Initially, Lix joined RHOA in 2008, and then announced her departure in season 7. She later returned for seasons 10, 11 and 12 before leaving for good in September 2020.
“I made a difficult and very difficult decision not to participate in the 13th season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” the Glee graduate said on her YouTube channel at the time. “It wasn’t an easy decision for me. …There were a lot of emotions on both sides. I’m just so happy that I can say that I was part of the genre that opened the doors for the reality show “Black Ensemble”.
The television network, for its part, wished Lix “all the best in her future endeavors” in a statement to us at the time. They added: “She played an important role from the very beginning and she will really be missed and maybe one day she will hold a peach again.”
Scroll below to learn more about her ongoing lawsuit:
When were the complaints filed?
The graduates of Dancing with the Stars sued the TV company and the TV company on April 20, 2022.
What charges?
Leakes claimed that the production companies NBC, Bravo and RHOA contributed to the formation of a racially insensitive culture in the workplace and “constantly allowed their actors inappropriate, insensitive or racially offensive behavior to remain without correction and correction.”
Who is listed in the suit?
The host of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” was named in the case and called “The Main Mascot of Bravo,” and the documents note that he has been a regular participant in the franchise since its inception. Kim Zolciak-Biermann was also named in the lawsuit, and Leakes claimed that her former colleague at RHOA “repeatedly exhibits” racially abusive behavior. Court documents allege that Zolciak-Biermann, who joined the series during the first season of 2008, was often awarded “special benefits and privileges denied to Black housewives” and was never reprimanded for alleged racist acts. (We have reached out to Zolciak-Biermann for comments.)
Did Bravo respond to her claims?
The network has not yet publicly reviewed the court case or Leakes’ allegations.
