*Andy Cohen addressed NeNe Leakes’ future with “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” during BravoCon Saturday.
“I’m a nostalgic guy. She and I came up together and there’s always room in my heart for, you know, everybody,” he told a fan at the Las Vegas event, Page Six reports.
Per video footage shared online, when the fan asked whether Leakes could return to the show after she accused Cohen and the network of racial discrimination, the executive producer replied, “Who knows? I mean, she asked me a few years ago to keep her name out of my mouth, so I try to respect that.”
Leakes is an “RHOA” OG, appearing on the series from Seasons 1 to 7 and returning for 10 to 12 before departing the show in 2020. She filed a discrimination lawsuit in 2022 against Cohen, NBCUniversal, Bravo, and production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original, alleging they fostered a racist and hostile work environment, per Page Six.
She ultimately dropped the lawsuit “without prejudice” — meaning she can revisit the case later.
Recently, Leakes spoke to fellow Bravolebrity Bethenny Frankel about how Black “Housewives” aren’t treated fairly by the network.
During her two-part conversation with Frankel on her podcast “Just B,” Leakes said Season 11’s episode “Bye Wig, Hello Drama” was a defining moment as it made her realize Black housewives were treated differently than their white counterparts by the production team, TheWrap reports. She also told Frankle that she felt Cohen never really liked her.
“I feel sad for a person who doesn’t have a forgiving heart,” Leakes said of Cohen. “I’m not worried about him.”
She added: “I don’t want any beef. I just want it to be clean, and I’ve also asked to even— I’ve tried to find a way for he and I to sit down and talk, but he’s never wanted to do that.”
Meanhile, during BravoCon on Saturday, Cohen said “RHOA” could get a partial reboot.
“I mean, I think that [‘RHONY’s reboot] showed us that it can be done and done well. … Which is really a strong thing to see,” he said.
“I always love building with what we have … I think ‘Atlanta’ has some really strong building blocks that are already there and we’re in a growth area. We have a growth opportunity for ‘Atlanta.’”
WATCH:
Andy Cohen on Nene Leakes and whether she could return! #RHOA #BravoCon #bravocon2023 pic.twitter.com/FrEt4bGcRu
— K E M P I R E 🐘 (@TheKempire) November 4, 2023
READ MORE: NeNe Leakes Calls Out Bravo’s Mistreatment of Black ‘Housewives’
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