NeNe Leakes, a former cast member on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, has ended her lawsuit against the companies behind the programme, having previously accused them of racial discrimination.
Leakes was an original “housewife” on the series, starting in 2008 and making her final appearance on the programme in 2020.
According to papers filed in Atlanta in April, the reality star, who is Black, had complained of years of racist remarks made on the show by fellow “housewife” Kim Zolciak-Biermann.
NBCUniversal, Bravo, production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original, executives from the companies and Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen were named as defendants. Leakes did not mention Zolciak-Biermann in the lawsuit.
However, papers obtained by Page Six state that on Friday (19 August), Leakes filed to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” meaning she has the ability to reopen it at a later time.
The publication also reports that the documents note that parties involved in the case agreed to not “seek recovery of costs or attorneys’ fees”.
The Independent has reached out to representatives for NeNe Leakes, Andy Cohen and Bravo for comment.
One of the occasions in the suit referred to Zolciak-Biermann, who is white, responding to a barbecue invitation during the first season with “words to the effect of, ‘I don’t want to sit around with NeNe and eat chicken’”.
The suit said the statement “perpetuated an offensive stereotype about African-Americans”.
In May, Leakes claimed that she had been “blacklisted” from booking other jobs in the entertainment space as a result of filing the suit and speaking out.
