Mr. Vixen

Andy's power at Bravo in general has been reduced recently. The show has a new show runner and producers and from what I've heard, Andy isn't as involved as he once was. He has the authority, but it isn't solely his. Again, this is just what I've heard and I may be wrong. Kenya absolutely did backfire. She was a talking point but everyone hated her. She was hardly the "star" they wanted her to be, until this year (supposedly). I Dream of Nene was filmed before season 6 of RHOA and is therefore irrelevant to this conversation, but I will say that the show was only 6 episodes and no longer than Kim or Bethenny's series, if I recall correctly. I'm not denying that ANDY is invested, but there are other people involved and they are most definitely trying to diminish Nene's importance to the show to soften the blow when she leaves. Andy being ride or die for Nene doesn't protect her from everything, as sad as it makes me to admit it.

Andy will always be ride or die for Nene, but he doesn't have the power over the show that he used to. The bolded proves my point. Kenya was brought on so they could groom her into Nene 2.0. That backfired at first, but now that some are warming to Kenya and they know Nene could walk any day, they are no longer invested in Nene the way they were. They know she's their most valuable player and they are desperately trying to downplay that so they don't get clowned by her.

My point is this. Nene is the star of Atlanta. Whether she loses her popularity or not, people will look back on this show and she is the one they will remember, for the most part. She is the only RHOA lady who is really a celebrity outside of the franchise (aside from Kandi, who is very famous but less famous as the star of this show, and more famous for her actual career). Now, that being said, Bravo knows (and has known since last year) that they are in danger of losing her. They'll never fire her, but they know she may walk, whether it be due to other projects or her dissatisfaction with the state of things. It's because of that that they are so desperate to find a new "star". We all know good and well that this show wouldn't have survived with just the season 4 ladies and not Nene. And you cannot simply bring someone in and expect them to be the star, they have to be groomed and the fans must become accustomed to them, as is supposedly happening with Kenya. I'm not seeing this holy hell of backlash that you all claim is out there, but even as a ride or die Nene fan, I can admit there is backlash out there and I can say she hasn't acted 100% the way she should. But the way the show is *handling* this situation is what I mean in regards to editing Kenya well. In past seasons, they would have done anything to make Nene look 100% correct, even if it meant giving Kenya the bitch edit or even deleting scenes/events that made Nene look bad. However, because they fear they will lose Nene, they are simply airing everything Nene does and says, and devoting LOTS of airtime to Kenya in an attempt to make her look like she is the star. You know in Season 4 we would have been seeing an episode full of Nene. Last night's Kenya-centric episode never would have happened. But because they're trying to groom Kenya into Nene 2.0 in order to save their franchise, they're simply airing Nene as she is and showing nothing negative in regards to Kenya. If you don't think they're giving Kenya the glamorous edit, you are dead wrong. The amount of airtime they've devoted to her alone shows that they are trying to slant this in her direction in order to protect their asses. The problem is that it will never last. Kenya will not be the star of this show because one of two things will occur. Either Nene will leave, or Nene will flay her alive at the reunion and then return next year totally disinterested in her. This feud will not go on forever, and eventually people will grow bored. If Nene leaves or moves on, Kenya is left with nothing. She has no story outside of this, and no real friends on the cast. Her relevancy is completely contingent on Nene, and she knows that. Unless Bravo brings in someone she's friends with next year in order to continue their attempt to make her into the new Nene, her star will fade before it even fully lit up. The long and the short of it is that Bravo is attempting to make Nene irrelevant before she leaves on her own and makes RHOA completely irrelevant.

I will reply to all of you in a bit but I only have a second right now so I'm just gonna clarify that I didn't mean to imply Nene was getting the bitch edit so much as they are working overtime to give Kenya the glamorous edit.

Marlo put work into the wedding, absolutely. But Marlo also acted a fool, and tried to make the entire thing about herself. She did her job and was a good friend in some ways but she was also very inappropriate during the wedding. The dress incident, her demanding to see Nene before the wedding, etc. all showed that. Nene had every right to shade her. As for Nene saying negative things about her now, well - they aren't friends anymore. So whatever she's said since the falling out is not at all relevant to my question of how Nene was ever a bad friend. As for Marlo not saying a word about Nene, it's because she's not stupid. As much as you all would like to think Nene is done for, Marlo knows that if she crosses Nene too much, she will not stand a chance at staying on this show. Andy already has a shaky history with her & the producers are wary of her because of her background. A feud is one thing, but the only reason she's been nice re:Nene in the press is because she's desperate to stay on the show and smart enough to know how to do it.

Your first point is interesting to me. I'm not usually one to cry production foul, but I have to say the slant towards Kenya in this episode was pretty obvious. I think the producers have known since last year that Nene might not stay longer and now that they have someone who could potentially be the new "star", I think she's definitely getting things edited in her advantage, while Nene is getting the bitch edit. Very shady. However, you're right about Nene's new weave. I wish she had kept it. It was giving me shades of Season One Nene, but obviously it looked much better. You're right, Kenya is "working" this. There is nothing sincere about her actions or her apology. She is playing the game, and she just happens to be good at it right now. Call Nene shady, pressed, or a bitch all you want but she (nor any of the other ladies) could ever be as fake as Miss Kenya. I'm glad Marlo didn't attend. I am over her, sadly. As for saying "Nene shouldn't have shown up", y'all know damn well if she hadn't attended you guys would have taken issue with that as well. Nene is set up to fail with the viewers this season. Kenya is the "it" girl right now and Nene could have crawled back on hands and knees begging for Kenya's forgiveness and you all would still shade her. I would hardly say Kenya is "taking over" though. It's very possible for a HW to be hated one season, loved the next and vice versa. Just look at how wildly unpopular Kenya was last season. Her inability to stand up for herself will be the death of her. She cannot thrive off of talking heads forever. The only reason Kenya is "popular" this season is because of the feud with Nene. If Nene leaves or changes her attitude next season, Kenya will go right back to being irrelevant. Outside of this feud, Kenya has nothing going for her. All of the other ladies dislike her and try to avoid filming with her. She's irrelevant. I doubt Nene will get a public lashing. Nene knows how to handle herself, and Kenya doesn't. She will slay Kenya, as will all of the other ladies. The viewer questions may be harsh but Nene will handle them just fine and you know Andy will not let her come off in too negative a light. If Nene does attend the reunion, I think she will "redeem" herself to most fans. Just look at Phaedra last year.

Wow, thank you very much! I love the rapport we have here. It's nice to be able to have thought out, intellectual conversation with other fans. You do not get that on Twitter. I'm glad you have joined us! I look forward to reading your posts even though, as you said, we don't always agree 100%. As for Nene, I hardly thought she looked bad, but I think she could have thought her actions out a bit more carefully.

I don't think Nene showed her true self, but rather allowed her anger, frustration, and the fact that she was so rudely out on the spot, to get the best of her. Happens to all of us. I didn't say you should worry about who your friends hangout with. I'm saying that it's not at all uncommon or unusual for someone to be upset that their "friend" is hanging out with someone they dislike. If someone who's supposed to have your back is constantly hanging out with/choosing to be on the team of someone you feel betrayed you, that would be upsetting. Say what you want, but if you went to an event and someone you thought was your best friend chose to play for your enemy's team, you'd be pissed or at least annoyed. How and when have we seen Nene be anything but a good friend to Marlo? Nene is the only reason Marlo ever even became relevant two years ago and NENE is the one who got Marlo back on the show. I haven't seen this "large majority" you speak of.

Hello ladies and bitches! As per usual, I didn't get to see the episode when it aired. But never fear, as I have watched now. I know y'all are waiting with bated breath for me to weigh in on Nene, so of course I will save that for last. LOL! Joking, of course. I liked that Porsha showed out at the audition. Her acting was shaky but she was far from cringeworthy and I'm sure it turned out well. Her singing was great, and I'd love to see the final product. I also liked that Porsha tried to bring the girls together. Roller derby was a weird, but very fun choice. Porsha is really the only one who was uninvolved in the whole mess, and I think she's finally showed some maturity and levelheadedness in her comments regarding the events, and her attempts to help patch things up. I didn't like that Cynthia was shading Kandi by pushing her hand up in the air and acting as if Kandi had been the only one that got crunk. Cynthia showed her ass that night and at the spa and should own that. That being said, Kandi was once again flawless and owned her actions and reminded us all yet again why she is queen. Phaedra really didn't do anything this episode but I liked that she commented on Kenya's insincere apology, and I love that her and Nene are at least somewhat cordial now. I always secretly wanted a Nene/Phaedra alliance. Kenya's apology, to me, seemed like what you accuse Nene of, blame-shifting. She didn't really apologize for anything. The voicemail Mama Joyce left is ridiculous and very ghetto. How unbecoming of her. However, Carmon handled it like a pro and I feel so much for Kandi. Todd was wrong to insinuate that he would leave her, but I understand where he is coming from. To live with that kind of abuse from your fiancé's mother must be rough. I respect the relationship Kandi has with Joyce, and I relate to it. She's in a terrible position and needs to find some middle ground. Easier said than done, obviously. This somewhat goes into the preview for next week, but I can see why Nene would be mad at Marlo. Nene did introduce Kenya and Marlo, and they did not know each other at all beforehand. Marlo knew the two had fallen out, and it WAS inappropriate for her to be hanging out with Kenya without at least hearing Nene's side of things. You all can say Nene is crazy but think about it, would you want your "good" friend hanging out with someone you don't like? Most rational people want their enemies to be their friends enemies as well. That's just how it goes. As for the event, I think Kenya planned for things to go on exactly as they did. She didn't throw this event as an olive branch or peace effort. She knew Nene would react the way she did, and that's what she was banking on. Unfortunately, Nene somewhat fell into the trap. Kenya absolutely should have called Nene. How are you going to "throw a gala" for someone and never give them details or even tell them it was in their honor? You send an e-vite and that's good enough? No, and anyone would have been confused/angry over that. I also don't think Nene lied about receiving the email. I doubt Nene goes through all of her own mail and its likely that e-vite was opened by an assistant and very well may never have been passed along. As for Nene's behavior at the event. Did she handle it perfectly? No, but I don't think she was out of line like you guys do. She didn't fight with anyone or say anything. Kenya put her on the spot. Kenya knew Nene was mad at her, and yet she expected Nene to speak at the event? You don't put someone on the spot like that in general, but especially when you know they're mad at you. Nene was blindsided by having to speak and was reasonably pissed about that, and other things. That being said, she could have handled the speech a bit better. She should have just said something nice about the charity and ignored Kenya completely. Like I said, I fully believe everything happened just as Kenya wanted it to. I only wish Nene had caught on to Kenya's game and played her. As for Peter, I saw his point, but he was being very dramatic and at the end of the day, Nene is his friend. He acted inappropriately as well by demanding to leave and [!@#$%^&*] talking Nene to Cynthia outside of the event. I loved how Nene heard him say her name and rolled up on him. I saw both sides there. Nene knew NOTHING about the event and Kenya put her on the spot by asking her to speak in front of everyone. She should have asked Nene privately. Kenya was dead wrong in that. As for next week, Kandi said Nene walked away from the fight. Interesting. Please tell me- would you not be mad if you went to an event and your "good friend" played on someone else's team? Especially if that someone else is someone they AREN'T friends with, who they know you're feuding with? Shady shady shady. I regret wishing Marlo would return.

lol sorry I meant Scheana but I don't even really remember posting that

Why is Barbie's Dream Whore throwing shade when she's also not cute?

I'm so pissed I missed that

Wait, I didn't know there was a Bravo special tonight!!

That's because Lisa's very smart, not because she's not evil. Lol.

I do too but unfortunately there aren't, in fact there's not many IDON clips on YT at all.

I think she was on every episode, and if not she was in all but one or two! She had a lot more to do on that show, she got a couple good reads in and even had a fun moment where she was very drunk at the bridesmaids fitting.

I wish Nene had just sucked it up and done a Tyler Perry movie back when they were hot commodities. She probably could still, but he is also rather irrelevant now. Hmm, maybe she could be on THATHN.

I mean we are in the highest rated season of ATL ever, so we'll see. I feel like Nene will be relevant as long as Ryan Murphy is, at least. But then again he's already much less relevant than he was even a year ago. It'll be interesting to see how her clothing line ends up doing. Will it be a She by Sheree or a Jessica Simpson?

Not if you count various HW's appearing at Nene's wedding.

Joyce is straight up evil and nasty. It makes for great Tv but I feel bad for Kandi.

Me too. I feel like she will stay relevant at least for a while, but it never hurts to save hunni.

I knew you weren't completely on my [!@#$%^&*] list.

I'm not saying it isn't true, I'm just saying I'm gonna need someone else to corroborate that story. There were dozens of people in that room that night and the only one who spills the tea is a production assistant who conveniently remains anonymous?

Agreed. Haven't Lexis and Nene known each other since they were kids?

Yes she looks fabulous! What exactly did she say about Lexis? I remember she said something along the lines of "Diva Marlo, Crazy Diana, Hoodrat Lexis" or something like that where the only insulting thing was aimed at Lexis. Her and Marlo still follow each other so that's interesting.