Eva Marcille, 35, can’t bear the thought of NeNe Leakes, 52, slowly being removed from The Real Housewives of Atlanta! Kenya Moore, 59, has been making that suggestion as of late, and even straight up admitted to thinking NeNe is being “phased out” of the Bravo series during the Feb. 17 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. HollywoodLife caught up with Eva for an EXCLUSIVE interview, so we had to ask if she agrees with Kenya. “I pray not. I hope not. Now that would be sad. That would be a sad day for Housewives, because NeNe is NeNe,” Eva told us, disturbed by the idea.
Eva pointed out how NeNe has been on the show “since day one” — literally, since the Season One premiere in 2008! While she stepped away from being a main cast member in Seasons 8 and 9, NeNe has practically seen it all on RHOA, and Eva made sure this history wasn’t forgotten. “Ups, downs, and round and round, the role has seen NeNe grow and evolve, and they root for her, and they laugh, and they know her and that’s their girlfriend,” she told us. With that said, Eva added, “And so I think she would be extremely missed. I don’t want to see her go, because who’s going to fill those kind of shoes?”
We then opened up the floor: does Eva think anyone on the cast is worried about losing their peaches? OGs in the Real Housewives franchise have unexpectedly been let go as of late — i.e., Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge — and Eva gave her take on the situation. “You know what, it’s all about your contracts and what you’re trying to do. I think it ends up being, there are so many franchises, and there’s so many girls involved,” Eva told HollywoodLife. “You hear about all their contract stuff, and then the speculations, but I think Atlanta’s solid.” However, Eva added that she “might be wrong,” given that she’s “not a producer.”
On WWHL, NeNe directly called out Kenya by “tweeting” into the show! “Here’s a Q for [Kenya] @andy….ask her [why] is she out doin press sayin BRAVO is fazing [sic] me out? BRAVO hasn’t told me or my team that! Why is she out sayin i have lost money from NOT being n [sic] episodes. I negotiated my episodes & money Upfront? I have NOT lost anything,” NeNe wrote, and Andy Cohen relayed the message to Kenya. In response, Kenya said, “I guess she would need to ask Bravo why they’re cutting her out of many episodes this season. I’m not the one behind the editing and figuring out the show.”
I HAVE NOT been cut out of any episodes! I negotiated my episodes just like everyone else did! I’m getting every dime i asked for! Thank you for asking and clearing that up @andy That means a lot to me
— NeNe Leakes (@NeNeLeakes) February 17, 2020
Andy actually chimed in to clarify that NeNe isn’t getting cheated on air time! “I don’t think she’s being cut out of episodes because I think everything that was shot with NeNe is in the show. We’re not cutting anything out,” Andy told Kenya. NeNe doubled down on this, later tweeting, “I HAVE NOT been cut out of any episodes! I negotiated my episodes just like everyone else did! I’m getting every dime i asked for! Thank you for asking and clearing that up @andy That means a lot to me.”