*Kenya Moore says she may have been cast as the villain in this season of “Celebrity Apprentice,” but she’s looking at her addition to the NBC series as a chance to prove that she’s more than just a twirling Bravo “housewife” who likes to whip up trouble.
“I think that I show people a very different side because what I’ve been getting in terms of feedback from Twitterverse and social media is that they really enjoy watching me on this show,” Moore told EURweb exclusively at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on Friday.
“I came to win,” Moore continued. “I came to win money for my charity. I came to show people a different side of me. And although multiple people tried to derail me from that and make it personal [with] imaginary drama – like Brandi [Glanville] – I decided to take a higher road and I think people really appreciated me for that.”
The former Miss USA – who turns 44 on Jan. 24 – has been a polarizing figure since first twirling onto reality TV via “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” In a departure from the combative, hot-tempered physicality that has come to represent black women in the genre, Moore stirs discord with her mouth – whether ginning up Porsha Williams to react violently on last season’s “RHOA” reunion show, or putting a bug in Donald Trump’s ear about Keshia Knight Pulliam’s failure to ask Bill Cosby for money (pre-scandal) during a fund raising challenge – a decision that ultimately got Keshia fired.
Moore sees a double standard in play when asked to consider the negative depiction of black women on reality television. She points to Kerry Washington playing “the president’s whore” on “Scandal,” or Viola Davis as a “conniving, cunning woman adulterer who is having an affair” on “How to Get Away With Murder.”
“As a whole, there are going to be depictions of us that are negative and depictions of us that are positive, and then you’re going to have a bit of both,” Moore said. “I think what makes our show successful overall is that we are showing real live people argue. But they also have resolution in real life and we show that, too.”
Team Twirl already knows – Kenya can talk a good game, whether in The Donald’s boardroom, or reading a hater on Twitter. But what does she really think about the shade she gets on social media?
Below, Kenya tells us if she’s really able to just brush it off:
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