NeNe Leakes revealed her salaries on the early seasons of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, said the current cast is “sitting” in the “house that I built,” shaded Sheree Whitfield and Kenya Moore, and claimed Cynthia Bailey conspired to get her off the show.
The alum began RHOA in 2008, when the ‘Housewives’ franchise was still in its infancy, and many fans credit NeNe for its explosion in popularity.
Speaking on Carlos King’s “Reality with the King” podcast, via Radar, NeNe revealed she made $10,000 for the first season, with a $5,000 bonus for the season’s reunion.
After she and the cast “knocked it out of the park” in their sophomore season, her salary was bumped to $50,000. She said by season 3, she, Kim Zolciak, and Sheree were making from $100,000 to $150,000.
“We started to make a bag, maybe season 4,” she shared, which was the “real” money they deserved.
She also claimed on the podcast that the current cast is “sitting in my house, the house that I built,” though she admitted it’s now seemingly “tumbling down.”
The star shaded the current ratings, saying RHOA went from 5 million viewers – when she was on the show – to its current number of 500,000. “That’s a difference, isn’t it? Wow. What a big difference. Ok. 5 million, 500,” she said.
The ‘OG’ also said that the show “changed” after Kenya joined the cast.
“Our stories were [once] real,” said NeNe. “When we had disagreements, they were real. We didn’t pretend like we had a boyfriend when we didn’t have one.”
NeNe believes the mentality after Kenya’s entrance became: “Let’s create [a] storyline.”
She also shaded Sheree, who’s “not the most exciting person in the world,” and suggested she acted different after cameras started filming, and their “friendship became nothing.”
When asked if she was surprised that Sheree is the last one standing from the original cast, NeNe answered, “I don’t know about ‘last standing.’ She’s the last one they could get on the show … There was nowhere else to go.”
She indicated that the real “stars” of the show were herself and Kim, though Sheree “played her role.”
Addressing her former costar Cynthia, NeNe expressed her belief that Cynthia was previously conspiring against her.
“[Cynthia] was in alliance with housewives, and behind the scenes with producers and network … I believe she tried [to get me off the show],” said NeNe, in a clip shared by @queensofbravo on Instagram. “I know a lot of things she did, honey.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 15 airs Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.