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Kandi Burruss Addresses NeNe Leakes Claim That Bravo Exec Andy Cohen Is 'Racist'

Leakes said she was treated unfairly when she left 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' in 2020.

In September of 2020, after NeNe Leakes announced she was leaving Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta, the reality superstar caused a stir when she called Bravo exec Andy Cohen “racist.” Leakes, who will be featured on BET’s reimagined series College Hill: Celebrity Edition (premiering Summer 20220) even posted a petition calling for the boycott of the network. Kandi Burruss, who has been on Real Housewives of Atlanta for 13 seasons, recently addressed Leakes’ allegations.

While promoting her latest Bravo reality show Kandi and the Gang, Burruss said on SiriusXM Urban View’s The Clay Cane Show about the accusations of racism, she commented, “Realistically, I don't agree… Everybody can have their own opinion. I did not agree.”

Burruss said that Leakes “would tell everybody she was the highest paid on our show” and explained, “You can't brag about being paid the most out of anybody and then say that they're not treating you right.”

Burruss also added, “I know, a lot of the women, especially at that time – now we got a lot of new people, it's not as many of us left on the show – but at that time, we still had like, four or five of us, who had been there for a while, making some real good money.  It's not like one person is doing well on the show, multiple women on this show are doing really well… It’s certain things that you may not like, certain things that you may want to try to do better, but, overall, to say that they were racist – I didn't agree with that at all.”

See the interview below:

In case you missed it, in September of 2020, Leakes tweeted about Cohen posting, "The racist is the master manipulator! They using me for ratings like they have always done."

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She also tweeted, “They ALWAYS manipulating black women to say negative things about each other while they sit and enjoy us tearing each other down! Remember #BLM Remember #breonnataylor REMEMBER the most racist networks.”

Leakes called for her supporters to sign a Change.org petition to ban the network. Additionally, in December of 2020, Leakes tweeted to Cohen, “Stop bringing up my name.”

However, by November of 2021, Leakes appeared ready to return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta. On a Nov. 4 episode of The Real, Leakes told Loni Love and Garcelle Beauvais, who appears on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, "Yeah, sure. I'll return to the show. I'm okay with returning to the show as long as we can work through a few things. I'd be happy to return to the show."

She also changed her tune about Cohen, saying, "I think Andy and I were really close for a really, really long time and I love Benny Boo [Benjamin..Cohen’s son] and I helped pay for his baby shower and all those things. I think that Andy and I need to have a sit-down and talk and we're off to the races!"

Cohen did not seem as open to giving her a peach. According to Reality Blurb, shortly after Leakes’ interview on The Real, Cohen said on his SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live, “I think she would probably prefer that I keep her name out of my mouth and that is what I’m going to honor.”

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