The ‘RHOA’ Cast Reportedly Re-Did Their Promotional Shoot Without Bravo’s Knowledge
Apr. 29 2022, Published 2:38 p.m. ET
The ladies of The Real Housewives of Atlanta have already given fans a taste of the drama in Season 14. While promoting the Bravo reality show, Kandi Burruss and Kenya Moore promised viewers they would see their altercations with Marlo Hampton on the show. Additionally, NeNe Leakes recently sued Bravo and Housewives EP Andy Cohen and made multiple claims of being mistreated during her RHOA run.
Amid the controversy, the Season 14 cast of RHOA collectively changed a Housewives tradition after reportedly being upset by Bravo’s promo shoot for the new season.
Why did the ‘RHOA’ cast reportedly pay for their promo shoot?
Bravo executives tease the latest season of each Housewives show with a group photo of the franchise’s cast. Recently, the network revealed the RHOA cast promos, which included all six cast members – Kandi, Kenya, Marlo, Sheree Whitfield, Drew Sidora, and newcomer Sanya Richards-Ross – posing together. Like the other shows, Bravo also gave each woman an individual headshot.
Weeks after the photos circulated, the cast debuted another group picture taken by photographer Erick Robinson on their respective social media pages. The ladies wore all-white outfits and posed in front of a Georgia peach backdrop. They shared a video from their shoot following the photo, putting on their best faces for the camera.
Once the new RHOA promo debuted, many fans questioned the reason behind the creative change. According to journalist Anthony Dominic, the cast chose to “take marketing/PR into their own hands for the upcoming season."
“A lot of people are asking me about the #RHOA promotion. It's true that the women funded this themselves; Bravo had nothing to do with it," Anthony tweeted, adding, “In fact, Bravo had no clue they were doing it.”
Does Bravo promote ‘RHOA’ as much as other 'Housewives' shows?
In his Twitter thread, Anthony mentioned that the RHOA cast felt Bravo didn’t prioritize their promotions as much as the other franchises. He said the women reportedly thought the network recycled their cast photos but took the time to invest in other shows.
“The ladies felt other franchises like #RHOBH gets new promos/photos, and theirs are refreshed every three to four years,” he wrote. “And that's why #RHOA stays top-tier!"
None of the RHOA cast members have confirmed Anthony’s claims that the new promo shoot was paid for by the RHOA cast. But some fans compared their original shoot to other franchises and do believe Bravo intentionally treats the other franchises better than RHOA.
The new RHOA content came out weeks after NeNe’s lawsuit with Bravo went public. The actress, who starred in RHOA for seven seasons, is currently suing Andy, Bravo, NBCUniversal, and Truly Original in a racism and defamation lawsuit.
NeNe said in her suit that the companies worked together to “foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged." She also provided several examples, including Kim Zolciak-Biermann calling her house a “roach nest” and accusing her of abusing drugs in Season 10.
"From the day the series began filming, NeNe was the target of systemic racism from co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann," NeNe’s lawyer, David deRubertis, said in the lawsuit, "which was tolerated by Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen and other executives."
Catch new episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.
