Claudia Jordan was recently asked to share her thoughts on NeNe Leakes' controversial exit from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
The actress and radio host believes Leakes ruined her own career due to her obnoxious behavior.
“It’s a shame. As much as we’re not cool, her and I, I don’t hate her. You went from making $5,000 for your first season on a very unknown show. You didn’t create the show but you were really a big part of that show becoming successful, Jordan said in a recent interview with The Domenick Nati Show, according to Madame Noire.
“To go from nothing to something, then to something great and to have burnt so many bridges where no one’s rushing to the rescue, it’s sad. I hate when I see people sabotage their own career with their attitudes of their behavior. On your way up, if you want to act a certain way, people are going to remember on your way down,” she continued. “She shot herself in her own foot by doing that.”
“I think she needs to take a little bit of time because she is charismatic and she is funny, I’ll give her that. She’s also obnoxious and difficult to work with and a victim. But she’s absolutely irrelevant right now.”
She added, “You should know your worth but that shouldn’t come at the expense of sh*tting on people, being obnoxious, being mean, refusing to shoot. I mean, when we did the show, she would walk out of scenes all the time. And I’m like, ‘How the f*ck is she still getting a check?’ I can’t walk off my job and expect to still get a check at the end of the week.”
Jordan was added to RHOA as a full-time cast member for season 7 in 2014. While she did not return as a series regular for season 8, she did made a guest appearance that season. Since her exit, Claudia starred on TV One’s reality series The Next: 15, which followed former reality TV personalities. She also competed on an episode of Chopped and appeared in multiple TV movies, including Sharknado 5: Global Swarming.
She currently hosts a radio gig in Dallas and is the host of several digital talk shows for FOX Soul.
As for Leakes, she is s currently working on a variety of projects after leaving RHOA in 2020. In September 2020, Leakes announced via her YouTube channel that she would not be returning to RHOA for its upcoming 13th season.
“Thank you to all of you guys that have been showing me a lot of love and support as of late. I feel you, I hear you. I have been on an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation,” Leakes revealed on Thursday, September 17. “There’s been a lot of emotion flying from both sides. It has been hard, and I have made the very hard and very difficult decision to not be a part of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ Season 13. It wasn’t an easy decision for me. It was hard.”
“It wasn't an easy decision for me,” she continued. “It was hard. I started on The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2008. We took off like a rocket. I mean, we took off. You could have never told me that I would start on this little show and it still be going strong 13, 14 years later. And it is. I'm just so happy that I can say that I was a part of a genre that opened up doors for Black ensemble reality shows to step up and be a part of what we all now love so much, reality TV,” Leakes said.
She went on to thank anyone who has ever “looked up” to her, her production company, and Bravo for “all the memories, the laughs, the tears.”
She also addressed a false report of someone on her team releasing a statement on her behalf last week. “I have no knowledge of it, I didn’t approve it.”
“When something is this important and this near and dear to my heart, I always want to be the person to address you.”
She ended her message by saying, “I will see you again real soon,” possibly teasing her return to the small screen.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a Bravo rep said, “We wish Nene all the best in her future endeavors and thank her for sharing her journey for over a decade with the fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She's been instrumental since the start and will truly be missed, and maybe one day she'll hold the peach again.”
Since announcing her exit from RHOA she has fallen out with Andy Cohen and Wendy Williams for discussing her departure on WWHL. After Williams said that Leakes like “attention” and that a NeNe spinoff would be “boring.” Leakes fired back and accused Williams of doing cocaine while accusing Cohen of being a racist. Leakes also has claimed that Bravo “forced” her out from RHOA.
NeNe, who is one of the original five cast members, joined the show when she series made its debut in 2008. She appeared on the show seven seasons. In season 8 she left but made several appearances in the second half of the season including the reunion. She took a break during season 9, only to return for season 10-12.
Photo Credit: Bravo/NBCUniversal (2)
