In her ongoing lawsuit against the Bravo network, NeNe Leakes claimed that network "racially segregated The Real Housewives franchise for years." According to The Jasmine Brand, in court documents, Leakes said, “For years, NBC and Bravo have run The Real Housewives as a segregated franchise where certain shows are treated as white shows and others as Black, with little if any overlap or mixing between the two.”
The court doc continued, “The segregated nature of the franchise is reminiscent of the early days of 'separate but equal' – that is, the shows are racially separated, purported to be equal, but in fact they are not. Some, but not all of the examples of the segregation within the franchise, are discussed below.”
Leakes used the Real Housewives of Orange County as example, saying that they hired their first Black housewife — Noella Bergener, after 15 years. The suit went on to name The Real Housewives of New York as another example, pointing out that it took thirteen seasons before the show welcomes a black housewife, Eboni K. Williams.
As previously reported, Leakes sued Bravo, the producers behind The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, and Andy Cohen claiming they fostered and tolerated a hostile and racist work environment. NeNe accused the defendants of ignoring her complaints about former co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, claiming that Kim made several racially-offensive statements while filming.