NeNe Leakes slammed former Real Housewives of Atlanta costar Porsha Williams for allegedly refusing to work with her on the set of Netflix’s The Upshaws.
In a series of posts shared via Instagram Story on Friday, March 15, Leakes, 56, shared that her management company had approached her with an offer from The Upshaws (starring Mike Epps and Wanda Sykes) saying the series was “interested in casting [her] for a part” in an episode directed by Kim Fields.
“I was excited to do it. It’s a comedy, I love comedy [and] I used to have a comedy show … so comedy is something I love to do and was really happy to do it,” Leakes said. “They told me that Porsha Williams Guobadia was also playing in this particular series. She would be side-by-side with me. I was excited, I hadn’t seen Porsha. We always have a good laugh when we see each other, so I was like, ‘Me and Porsha gonna kill this part.’”
The former RHOA star reportedly landed in Los Angeles and went to the Upshaws set expecting to see Williams, 42, at the show’s rehearsal, but she was a no-show. “Porsha never came,” Leakes said. “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 she told production that she had no issues with any Housewives, but Williams’ role eventually went to RHOA’s Cynthia Bailey instead.
“I was later told that Porsha did not show up and 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 said, adding that she was “shocked” and “more than disappointed” by the outcome. She added that she and Williams had “double-dated a few times,” taking trips together to places like 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. What lots of issues did we have in the past?” Leakes asked. “We don’t have any issues that we can’t work together. We are professionals.”
In 2019, Williams publicly called out Leakes for “fat-shaming” her just days after giving birth to her first child. Leakes later served Williams with a cease and desist letter after she shared screenshots via Instagram of text messages Leakes had sent her at the time, wherein she allegedly called Williams “a lying ass fat hungry bitch,” among other things.
“We’ve had petty things, we’re on a reality show,” Leakes said via Instagram Story in 2024. “So we obviously are gonna have some sort of issues. But we’ve not had anything where we could not work together. I’m sad and disappointed that Porsha would go to any company and say that she’s had issues with me and that we cannot work together. That is a lie.”
Leakes also claimed she had texted Williams before posting to her Instagram Story, who allegedly replied saying she was “going through a divorce and [Leakes] didn’t reach out to little sis.” Williams filed for divorce from her husband Simon Guobadia in February after 15 months of marriage.
“The bottom line is, Porsha did not want to share the spotlight. That’s it. And professionals can share the spotlight,” Leakes concluded in her video. “Porsha is not a star. She is a Bravolebrity. Be clear.”
In December 2018, a source shared with Us Weekly that Williams was being iced out by Leakes. “There’s no reason that NeNe and Porsha can’t be friends,” the source said at the time. “It’s on NeNe’s end. There’s nothing Porsha can do to maintain a friendship with NeNe if it’s going to be like this.”
