“Big egos are big shields for lots of empty space.” – Diana R. Black
NeNe Leakes has allowed her temper to to fuel not only her pocketbook but her already inflated ego.
On “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” she got into heated arguments with her husband Gregg, Sheree Whitfield, Kim Zolciak, Kandi Burruss, Dwight Eubanks, LaToya Jackson, Dionne Warwick and Star Jones, to name a few.
But sometimes, even a big Star like NeNe has to go back to square one. Three years ago, season one, episode one, she got into a her first televised tiff with Sheree that set the stage for all future arguments.
This time around, Sheree is upset that NeNe had allegedly pushed her out of a personal appearance in Philadelphia that Sheree first suggested to her.
NeNe is outraged by the accusations. “How am I taking money out of your damn pockets when I can put something in there? I’m sure not trying to take none out!” she tells the Bravo cameras. “She’s trying to intentionally defame someone’s character and say they’re stealing? I ain’t going for that.”
Indeed, she won’t. When Sheree and NeNe meet at Grape wine bar at Atlantic Station (in what appears to be in the middle of the afternoon when nobody else is around), NeNe instantly shows her conciliatory side.
“I have no desire to go out of character with you,” she said. “I personally don’t think it’s worth it. What I’ve heard you saying: I’ve taken money out of your pocket. You should explain it. I don’t have a problem. I think you do.”
Sheree told her the promoter Tyrone said NeNe tried to cut Sheree out of the deal, then opts for a generalization: “Black women, this is the problem. Nobody wants to see someone else’s success. Everyone is clawing and taking people down.”
[For context, Sheree appears to be living solely off Bravo show money and appearances. I don't see any sign her acting career is going anywhere. And it's obvious NeNe is making far greater bucks via appearances and such.]
No specific dollar amount is cited though it’s probably a lot bigger deal for Sheree than NeNe.
Sheree gets Tyrone on the phone. He corroborates Sheree’s story. NeNe gets indignant because Sheree believes the promoter over NeNe herself. So she goes for the jugular: “While you’re running your mouth with him, I was running to the bank to deposit a Trump check. Donald Trump!” Ka-ching!
“You are losing houses and cars!” NeNe added, referencing Sheree’s Bentley getting repossessed and losing her home over the past couple of years after her divorce with Bob Whitfield.
NeNe then walks away, worried she might get physical.
“She didn’t want to hear the truth,” Sheree said. “Was she going to choke me? Abso-freakin’-lutely not! Bitch ain’t crazy!”
Sheree, who knew NeNe before she was famous, decided to hit the low road, too, reminding NeNe of her old rotten teeth (since fixed) and the fact she had her car repossessed years ago herself in a Home Depot parking lot.
“I’m too classy to whoop some butt in a restaurant,” Sheree said later. “She can meet me in the back in the alley all day long!”
Naturally, there is no physical contact. NeNe talks to her only real friend on the cast Cynthia Bailey, who says Shere is jealous of her and went into the meeting not willing to give NeNe the benefit of the doubt. NeNe cries.
“I’ve never been hated on that level before,” NeNe said, conveniently forgetting her tiffs with Kim. Then she gets emboldened for the cameras, saying she won’t let this take her down.
Ghetto NeNe comes out: “Once you hit below the belt, deuces! You need to go. I’m not going to stab you in the back. I’m going to stab you in the chest!”
Happiest people out there? The producers, who heard that line and knew they had a perfect closer for the episode.
Oh, there were a few other housewives, too. This isn’t just the NeNe show, right?
- Cynthia Bailey Starts a modeling agency, bringing in “America’s Next Top Model” judge Miss J Alexander for ten seasons. He is also a runway model coach and provided some of Bailey’s new ingenues some tips that would be familiar to any ANTM show fan.
- Kim Zolciak is six weeks from having her baby with Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann. She moves her stuff to their “dream home,” which includes a basketball court and plenty of room for her wigs. As a pregnant woman, she eats jalapenos with baked ziti.
- Phaedra Parks helps out organizing a funeral of her great aunt and thinks about getting into the business.
- Kandi Burruss expands her empire by getting into sex toys. She, Sheree and Phaedra check out a high-end Liberator sex toy shop.
Notable quotes:
“Kroy’s a** is like a masterpiece. I don’t believe that s***’s for real. It’s amazing.” – Kim, admiring her husband’s physique in her typically erudite fashion.
“I look like a little slut.” – Kim said, admiring herself in a photo just after she got pregnant.
“Cash money. Bye haters!” – NeNe, after buying a car for her son a $13,500 used Charger in cash from a dealer she used to date in college. She also blows a kiss to the camera.
“The heffer tried to backdoor me!” – Sheree, about the appearance deal, not anything physical. Same “heffer” phrase used about NeNe by Phaedra last year. Find new insults!
“Donald Trump recruited NeNe for ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ because they needed an irate crazy bitch. And that’s what they got.” – Sheree, speaking the truth.
“Being pregnant doesn’t give you a free pass to eat 20 slices of pizza or 20 cupcakes. You need to be healthy.” - Kim. Editors then cut to her requesting sour-cream-and-onion potato chips and baked ziti. Hey, at least she’s not smoking and drinking.
“Her imagination leads her to the world of sex. Mine leads me to the world of the dead.” –Phaedra Parks, referencing Kandi’s sex-drenched interests vs. her darker interests.
‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ season four, episode one recap: Trump-ian-sized ego alert
