Bravo has already started filming Season 13 of 'RHOA' without Nene Leakes, but there's still a chance she'll return to the show she helped launch.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta started filming Season 13 earlier this month without their OG star, Nene Leakes, 52, but HollywoodLife has EXCLUSIVELY learned why Nene still hasn’t signed her contract and agreed to return. “She wants to be paid what she feels she deserves and she knows her worth,” a source close to the show said. “But it’s also about receiving support to ensure it’s no longer the work environment where she feels set up and attacked just for good TV.”
Nene also recently took to social media to address her potential return. After reports claiming she was fired started swirling, Nene spoke out. “I know a lot of people think it’s [my fault I haven’t signed my contract yet],” she said during an Instagram live on July 29. “Nene is not doing that. I’m still in a holding pattern. Let me start there. I also want to say that it’s not me, it’s them.”
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Our source later told us why E!’s new Glamsquad Showdown host decided to go public with her feelings. “Nene was sick of people speculating about why her negotiations were being held up and rumors of her being fired or at odds with Housewives,” our source said. “Because of this, she decided to address it publicly as she feels every season that she’s personally targeted by tabloids around this time of negotiations.”
This isn’t the first time Nene has had to shoot down rumors of leaving the franchise for good. After a series of cryptic social media posts emerged back in June, Nene’s rep cleared the air, while Bravo backed up his sentiments. “It is absolutely not true that Nene has been fired from RHOA,” Steven Grossman told HollywoodLife on June 17. “Furthermore, it was made abundantly clear prior that she will always be welcome on the series as long as she wants to be.” He also said, “We are having on-going bigger picture conversations with NBC Universal and have not made any decisions regarding next season specifically. Any speculation or sources trying to create controversy by stating otherwise are incredibly inaccurate. Bloop.”
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Though things seem to be at a current standstill for the upcoming season, Nene is hopeful she can join her co-stars and begin filming soon. “She wants it to work out,” the source added. “But she’s sick of reading what she’s reading in the blogs every day. She’s not holding up negotiations purposefully.”
