Variety reports that Bravo has re-edited a March episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta in which Kenya Moore wore a Native American headdress as a costume to a Halloween party filmed for the show.
A spokesperson for Bravo said the episode was edited shortly after it aired. Now, Moore is shown only minimally as a “warrior princess,” as she put it on the show.
The new version of the episode is available on BravoTV.com, the Bravo app, and on VOD, reports the publication. In one scene featuring a confrontation between Moore and LaToya Ali, a “friend” of the show, the two have a sit-down and the camera goes back and forth between Ali in a mermaid costume and various chairs and decorations, rather than ever focusing on Moore.
Both Moore and Bravo apologized for the costume in March after the episode aired, and Moore apologized again during the cast reunion last month.
“I want to sincerely apologize for inappropriately wearing the Native American headdress as a costume,” she said in a statement via Twitter. “I now realize that this was both disrespectful and insensitive and would never have done it if I had that knowledge and understanding beforehand. I regret it. When you know better, you do better. I am genuinely sorry.”
An activist group called IllumiNative led the charge against Moore and Bravo by writing a lengthy statement on Instagram Monday ripping “costumes that mock Native peoples.”
“We are deeply disturbed by last night’s episode of #RHOA in which @thekenyamoore wore a Native American ‘warrior princess’ costume,” the group said. “Costumes that mock Native peoples, defame our traditions and cultures, and perpetuate negative stereotypes are racist. ‘Playing Indian’ is a form of mascotry that is not just offensive, it is part of a long history of how Native peoples have been dehumanized.”
The nonprofit initiative, created and led by Native Americans, added that they are “incredibly concerned” that none of the producers or executives at Bravo, Comcast or NBC Universal, Bravo’s parent company, intervened.
Bravo wrote in the post’s comments section that it “aims to have the highest standards of respect and inclusivity” and they “recognize” the recent “RHOA” episode does not “uphold those values.”
The network’s statement read as: “We had hoped it would provide a teachable moment, however in retrospect it is clear that the network did not address this properly given the gravity of the situation,” according to Page Six. “We apologize to both the Native American community and our audience as a whole.”
Moore’s apology came after she was slammed by some of her co-stars during Sunday night’s episode.
“Kenya’s Native American costume is super problematic but I ain’t trying to ruffle no feathers for this girls’ trip,” Drew Sidora said in a confessional during the episode, according to Us Weekly. “It feels like I’m always the only one that sees the issues with Kenya Moore’s decisions.”
Porsha Williams commented on the costume, saying, “Kenya is a Native American warrior. I thought we weren’t doing that no more. Like, I knew that this girl was crazy, but add lame to the list, add whack to the list.”
After a Twitter user called Moore out for wearing the costume, the former Miss USA winner initially defended herself.
“I know Kenya didn’t shade Porsha all season about her work with the BLM movement then showing up with an indigenous people costume. 2 strikes #RHOA,” the fan tweeted after the show aired.
Moore replied in a since-deleted tweet, “Also part of my heritage #RHOA.”
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal (2)
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