With a recurring role on season 4 of Glee and the upcoming NBC series The New Normal and let's not forget season 5 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, actress/reality star NeNe Leakes is busier than ever. Last season the ATL Houswife and fan favorite brought in a reported $750,000 (and $100,000 for the three-part reunion), and now comes word that the self proclaimed "very rich bitch" may be getting paid $1 million to film the fifth season.
While NeNe's sassiness and tell-it-like-it-is attitude made her a household name, once she realized that she had the opportunity to build a brand for herself, she got smart and kept the nigger nonsense to a minimum, something she feels the fools over at Basketball Wives hasn't learned.
Here's what NeNe told Vibe:
You can say whatever y’all want about reality TV, Atlanta Housewives, we don’t do that. We definitely have had our verbal fights, but never physical fights. I can’t believe the fighting and the bullying. It looks bad. It really looks bad. I don’t like when people say it affects Black women or the Black community. I think it affects all communities. I think it looks bad on women; it looks bad on everybody. When I look at it, I just can’t believe it. And, you know, I’m friends with Jennifer [Williams] and she’s on Basketball Wives. [..] when I watch, I’m like, “How much do they get paid?” [Laughs] My goodness.
And then I think about—they can’t want to do too much in their careers. A good ole argument, everybody likes that every now and then to tune into, but you couldn’t be trying to have too much in your career because that stuff, it don’t work. You can’t represent a product and be that way. That just doesn’t work. That’s one of the reasons when I’m sitting on my show, I’m thinking I’m just tired. Because at some point this can’t even help my future. You know, you would want to think that it would help your future.
I don’t know if apologizing is going to work. It’s great to go back and say, “I’m sorry and I learned from the mistake.” But the damage is done and people saw it. You can do some stuff and people will tune out and never tune back in. It’s sort of like putting a bad taste in somebody’s mouth. Some people may not ever tune in again. You could’ve damaged your career. The person that was looking at you to do something, they may not want to use you now. I can’t take it.
I have to say NeNe is smart to come to that realization because I recently saw the season finale of Basketball Wives and Shaunie O' Neal said to her pastor that when she walks into a room for business meetings, especially if they are black she wonders in the back of her mind if she is being perceived by them as some ghetto chick who has no idea what they are doing. While it shouldn't matter what other people think of you, when you are a reality star, most aren't smart to think that past the 49 minutes of footage that makes it on TV the negativity you put out is not all of your personality. Only the dramatic crazy stuff is always what makes the news. What turned me off to watching Basketball Wives was the adult bullying that was going on. You has irrelevant ass Suzie being the two-faced stool pidgeon on the show, an intoxicated Tammy taking Kesha's belongings and later on putting a dead fish in Kenya's room. Then you got bitches climbing on tables to fight Jennifer. I mean at this point all Evelyn has going for her is marrying Chad Ochocinco and his 49 children from 40 babymamas because if they think acting like a clown gets you more screen time, then it will. Just don't think that all that bafoonery will get you endoursement deals with major companies.
Reality TV does not live on forever, so while you have that short window to make your mark you have to make every moment count and save your coins.
No comments:
Post a Comment