“Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum NeNe Leakes claims her former co-star Porsha Williams refused to work with her on a new season of Netflix’s “The Upshaws.”
via: People
“Earlier this week I was told by my management company that the Netflix scripted series The Upshaws were interested in casting me for a part,” explained Leakes, 56, at the start of a series of Instagram Story posts on Friday.
The former Real Housewives of Atlanta star shared with her followers that she was “excited to do it” because it is a comedy and features stars like Mike Epps and Wanda Sykes.
“I haven’t seen Porsha. We always have a good laugh when we see each other, so I was like, ‘Ok, me and Porsha are going to kill this part,'” said Leakes of her former Bravo castmate.
#NeneLeakes speaks out about her & #PorshaWilliams being asked to do #Netflix’s ‘The Upshaws’ but Porsha told the production company that she refused to work with Nene due to them having issues in the past. Nene speaks on being disappointed in Porsha! ? #RHOA pic.twitter.com/EV2cSpO7Ga
— jay (@JaysRealityBlog) March 15, 2024
She recalled flying to Los Angeles and heading to the studio to talk with the wardrobe department. They had her pick a different outfit than the one she originally chose to wear since Williams would be wearing a similar outfit. Leakes said she agreed but didn’t see Williams at the show’s rehearsal.
“Porsha never came,” she claimed. “We wrapped for the evening. I went back to my hotel, and when I got to my hotel, production called me and asked me if I had any issues with any Housewives because they were going to be recasting the other position.”
Leakes said that she told production she didn’t have any issues with any of the Housewives and that Williams’ role was ultimately given to Cynthia Bailey, another Atlanta alum.
“I was later told that Porsha did not show up to work and had said that she did not want to work with me. That we had had issues from the past, and she did not want to work with me,” Leakes claimed, noting that she’s “more than disappointed.”
Leakes said that the two “double-dated a few times,” have spent time at each other’s homes, and recalled taking trips together to Miami, Dubai and Las Vegas.
“I am shocked to hear that Porsha would go to a production company and say that she doesn’t want to work with me because we’ve had a lot of issues in the past,” added Leakes. “What lots of issues did we have in the past?”
Leakes said she texted Williams, 42, before filming her video and was sent a reply saying she’s going through her divorce and that Leakes “didn’t reach out to little sis.” Williams filed for divorce from Simon Guobadia in February after 15 months of marriage.
According to Leakes, she didn’t want to be “nosy” or “pry” or invade Williams’ privacy. She also claimed to have “fought for Porsha” to stay on Real Housewives of Atlanta when she was divorcing her first husband, Kordell Stewart, in 2013.
“The bottom line is that Porsha did not want to share the spotlight. That’s it. Professionals can share the spotlight. Porsha is not a star, she is a Bravolebrity. Be clear,” said Leakes at the end of her video.
The last time Leakes and Williams shared the small screen together was season 12 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2020. Leakes exited the show at the end of that season, while Williams left the following season. Williams recently announced she will return for the upcoming season 16.
A representative for Williams had no comment when reached by PEOPLE.
