Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore got real candid in her sit down interview with Carlos King, and the “Gone With The Wind Fabulous” star, who is regarded as one of the housewives that revived the RHOA franchise in season five described her casting, on-screen accomplishments, relationship with her mother and struggles as a housewife during the first part of their lengthy conversation.
Check out all of the highlights below...
On Struggling To Build A Relationship With Her Mother:
Kenya, who was raised by her grandmother Doris since she was three days old (Doris died in 2017) revealed that her mother, who she believes suffers from mental illness not only denied ever having her, but also tried to ruin her daughter's reputation, because at the time she was competing in and winning beauty pageants.
"My mother was calling the pageant director and was telling her I was an alcoholic, I was dating this older man, I was all these horrible things and I should not be her beauty queen. She tried to get my crown taken away. There was a history of her literally trying to destroy me. That was her mission," Moore said.
On The Whole Cast Going On Strike Because Kim Zolciak Was Receiving Special Treatment From Production:
“They (NeNe Leakes, Phaedra Parks, Cynthia Bailey, and Kandi Burruss) came together, which I admire,” said Moore. “They did not like the way that Kim was receiving preferential treatment, so they banded together and were like we’re not gonna work this week.”
Once a pregnant Zolciak stormed off the show and shoved the camera, production scrambled to find someone new to cast, which eventually led to the casting of Porsha Williams (then Porsha Stewart).
“They cast Porsha after Kim walked off,” she said. “They didn’t know what was going to be happening with Kim, and so Porsha was the replacement housewife.”
She also said that casting potential Housewives for the show has changed drastically over the years, as back then you had to earn your keep on the show before you were given a peach.
“Girls are getting their contract before they even meet us! And so then it blows up when they do meet us, and they can’t keep up, and they’re not a good fit,” she continued. “We’ve seen it season after season; it doesn’t work!”
On Not Getting Paid When She Initially Joined The Show:
Even though Kenya came on the scene as a force to be reckoned with, the actress revealed she didn't officially become a "Housewife" until she attended Nene's "Woman Of Success" event. She also threatened to quit the show if they didn't show her the money.
“I'm not going to be working for free. They begged me [for] one more scene. I remember saying, 'If I shoot this scene and you don’t make me a housewife, you cannot use me for anything else. You cannot use any of my footage.' They agreed to it and made me a housewife after."
On Having A Mental Breakdown Over Accusations She Was Tearing Young Black Girls Down At the Bailey Agency Casting Call:
“When it appeared that I was being mean or saying unflattering things about another Black young girl, that destroyed me. That is not who I am; that is not who I will ever be,” said Moore.
“I didn’t answer my phone for a week. I almost had a mental breakdown.”
She also affirmed my suspicions when she admitted that she believes RHOA producers punished her for marrying now-estranged husband Marc Daly off camera, and was denied the opportunity to get a spin-off greenlit.
“I wanted a spin-off with my child having a baby, and I was denied that, and you know why,” she told King.
Kenya also considers getting married on reality TV the "kiss of death."
“If I bring a man on this show, it’s like the kiss of death. It’s not going to work,” she said.
She explained why she chose not to have a wedding special or get married on camera like other housewives, Teresa Guidice and Kandi Burruss.
“I weighed what I needed first, and I needed to have a family before I needed a show,” she said. “As soon as I exposed him on the show, what happened? Divorce papers ensued. Rightfully so, but there is a rhythm to it.”
Despite her overall feelings about reality TV ruining marriages, she did not blame Bravo for the demise of her marriage to Marc. “Marc ruined our marriage,” she said.
Moore and Daly separated in September 2019 after two years of marriage and they have yet to finalize their divorce.
Kenya also didn't hold back when expressing her gripe with RHOA, particularly the seating arrangements at the reunions. Kenya has sat next to Andy from season 5-8, and again during season 13. Seasons 9-11, and 14 she has had the second or third seat. Season 12 was the only season filmed virtually.
"Don't tell me it's about story. It's not about story. It's about who are the leads of the show. NeNe did not have story for three seasons. They would never move NeNe's seat. That is a fact. I felt so disrespected knowing what I have put into this franchise. You should never move my seat."
Speaking of leads, the Bravolebrity also spoke highly about Nene Leakes’ undeniable impact on the franchise and said she still deserved to be a peach-holder in the wake of her departure.
“If I’m being honest, yeah,” Moore said when asked if she would be open to Leakes making a comeback during an appearance on the Reality With the King podcast. “She’s a force all on her own.”
The 1993 Miss USA pageant winner continued to give Leakes her flowers, adding, “You can’t take that away from her.”
“That’s one thing about me: I am never going to not give you your flowers and I’m never going to discount what you contributed to any space that you’re in,” Moore added.
King agreed that Leakes’ “built the house” of RHOA before making a thinly-veiled dig. “But it got foreclosed on,” Moore joked. “She didn’t pay the bills.”
As for who took over “the deed,” Moore smiled and playfully brushed back her hair.
Back in July, Leakes also sat down for an interview with King and revealed that she would be open to working out her differences with the network and executive producer Andy Cohen. “If I had to go back, it would be 100 percent for the fans,” she confidently said.
I thoroughly enjoyed the interview, and can't wait for them to get into some things in the second part (set to air next Tuesday at 9am on YouTube) where they talk Phaedra and all the sexual allegations between Kenya and Phaedra's ex-husband Apollo Nida.
Check out the clip below. You can watch Kenya’s full sit-down with Carlos King here.
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