During her appearance on Tamar Braxton's 'Under Construction', NeNe reveals that the salary dispute isn't the only reason why she decided to leave the show ahead of season 14.
- Jan 15, 2021
AceShowbiz - NeNe Leakes detailed the behind-the-scenes drama prior to her departure from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta". During her appearance on Tamar Braxton's "Under Construction", NeNe revealed that the salary dispute wasn't the only reason why she decided to leave the show ahead of season 14.
In the interview, Tamar asked NeNe about the least talked about side effect of being on a reality show. "The other side of all the perks… I don't know. I know that when I came out, I did everything. I did scripted television, I did Broadway, I was on the cover of Ebony magazine, the 'Power' cover, I was the first celebrity in 30 years to have a residency out in Vegas on Zumanity, appearances, I did appearances everywhere," NeNe responded.
Continuing to list the fame that "RHOA" brought to her, NeNe added, "Every single talk show it was possible to do. I co-hosted everywhere for everybody. I just did everything." However, she noted that "the flip side of that is, it's going to come to an end. Either it's going to come to an end or you level off."
Despite everything, NeNe claimed that people would never have full control of their own career. "The other thing is, you could still be going just as hard as you were when you first came out but that corporate devil is sitting right there," she went on to say, apparently throwing shade at Bravo. "It's a corporate devil that people don't know is controlling a lot of your career."
"I did a lot of competition shows. I did 'Celebrity Apprentice, I did 'Cupcake Wars'. I did a competition show where [husband] Gregg and I were cooking for these 'MasterChef' people. Corporate devil is a beast. That's all I got to tell you. Like you think you're going on these shows and you're going to be like, 'I can win.' Actually, before you even get on the show they already know who the winner is. That's the corporate devil. It's a lot that happens behind the scenes that people just don't know about," she added.
Of her exit, NeNe shared that she "was blaming a lot of people and it took me years to figure out who the real devil was." She continued, "When I figured it out though it really crushed me. It really hurt my heart really bad. I was really, really hurt over it. And I was like, 'Wow.' It felt to me like American greed or something. Greedy, just greedy. They will never stop. That's what happens. It's sad. It's a lot and it’s a lot to deal with. So much."
At the end of the day, NeNe concluded that "reality TV is better than reality. Cause you know, reality TV is a little twisted. That makes more money." She also admitted that "it took me years to figure out why all these girls were coming after me every season [we would've squashed something in the background], why some of my friendships were falling apart. It took me years."
