NeNe dishes on her current status with former castmate Cynthia Bailey. Plus, Bethenny and NeNe bond over being outcasts from current housewives. Find out what they believe is going on!
So wait, so who were the good friends you had on the show. I feel like you became you weren't really friendly with Kim, as you said, but then you became kind of good friends because you're in the in the game together, right.
Kim and I lived in the same neighborhood, so we were neighbors.
But you didn't become really good friends ever. We were the show for the show.
Before the show, we were we already knew each other.
But then when it seemed like you were freaking frack, it was for the show.
Yes and no, okay, because Kim and I had a relationship. I brought her to the production to meet her so that she could be on the show. We weren't as close, you know, we were, Okay, we were the best friend Yeah, say again Michelle.
Okay, so Michelle is ten, she's your best friend. That's to ten. Someone you don't know is zero? What was Kim? Seven?
No? Maybe a five? Oh? Okay, so you know we talked on the phone. We trained with the same trainer.
Okay.
You know we've had drinks before and been out to eat together before. Our kids would go to the same school. We lived in the same neighborhood, that kind of stuff.
What was Cynthia friendship?
That felt? It was? Cynthia and I were really close.
Like nine, yeah, okay, so and you're from Michelle. I met her like she's in your circle.
They both were in my wedding.
And so through the show you fell out, which I don't have to ask you why because it's because of the show and that. But you met on the show, right.
We met on the show. Yeah, Actually Cynthia came on the show through me. You know how they have somebody that you're kind of connected to. They had me to meet Cynthia before our season started. I met her. She and I went out to dinner, and the next thing I know, she was my friend that I was bringing on the show.
Which, by the way, what a mistake. You're like me. I used to work overtime in ways that I didn't need to, and casting would call me and I'd call up twenty different people and think about who's good and.
I don't know why I was doing that, And closer towards the end, I started saying, don't ask me. I don't know anyone. Because I felt like they would bring the girls would come on, then turn them against you.
No, I'm just right. When you're in the beginning, you're like, I want to go to this restaurant. It's important that we do this scene, that we do that at the end. Who gives a shit casting yourself? Why am I doing your job?
I don't know. I did all that, cast the whole entire.
Show, right, So, but it's because you're not getting paid for that, but you're working. It's work.
Yeah. So Cynthia was the was my real friend. I mean, we became very close. We at least I thought so, you know, so much so that we talked our day every day. We traveled together. We both lived in Atlanta. We double dated with our husband. You know, we did things about ourselves. She was one of my bridemaids in my wedding. We really had a we we had holidays together. I actually thought that she was like my sister.
I don't obviously know her, I don't even know if I've met her, but I like her. She seems like a good person. Is she a good person?
Well that's what I thought.
Okay, so you saw her, you saw her recently?
Yes, I bumped into her a couple of days ago, and I've bumped into her, you know, here and there. But I bumped into her two days ago at an event and we really laughed, laughed about I called myself getting her together. I started reading her about things that she had said in the press. We went through that whole thing and then we just laughed and laughed. It was really good seeing her.
So it's clean.
Yeah, it's clean. No, I've always said to people, even in interviews, I'm always going to tell you the truth. But the deal is, if I saw her some we would never be close like that again.
Ever that's fine because.
I could never trust that process ever again with her. However, if I saw her somewhere, I could laugh with her, I could have a drink with her, I could work with her. We just won't be close like.
And you enjoy her. And it got too deep, and then it went it went to you, well, we work on the same show, right, And my question is the thing is she's still in the cycle even though she's not on the show, My girl, she's still.
In the cycle because she goes back over there and sit and look for free. Now.
I don't know that part, okay, because people say she's showing up on the show, and I literally said, I don't know why Denise Richards would go on even for a meal on the show. If there's no upside, they're going to use you, they're going to promote you. That's what they did. Dig Jill's aron with the funeral, what she wasn't paid for, and it's all over the promos and then you're exploited for no money and you don't know how it's going to turn out, meaning they could try.
I do know that girls go on the show and work for Marlowe worked on the show for years without pay.
That's what I'm saying. There are some that and I was.
Very involved in her getting some pay. When she finally got paid, I spoke up and said, you know, marlow need to get paid, Like how dare you guys have Marlowe working on this show like four or five seasons, probably longer than that with zero dollars and she worked the entire time. Well also that traveled with us in everything.
That's the cow and the milk. Literally, I mean, you have no leverage once you've already given it away for free. You gave it away on the first night. Now they're gonna take it whenever they want. Yeah, that's really just messed up. That's fucked up totally.
Yeah, they know better than that. But they sitting working and you're making all this money out for them and don't even give them anything. That's not even cool.
Well its work, yeah yeah, yeah.
But Cynthia and I our relationship is.
That, by the way, for the reality reckoning that'll come out interesting people that actually worked and had to be places on time and our schedule and no pay and no pay that I didn't even and I think about that for the kids. But that's interesting for the people.
Yeah.
Well, the next weeks are going to be very interesting in this reality reckoning, I think, and I stay the course. I still know I'm right. I look around and what I've realized since seeing you, and I won't say who the people are the real power, the real entertainment industry power. They fully are on board and respect what I'm doing. It's the people in the middle. It's like the garbage can production people that are scared because people very recently have said to me that they're all told not to associate with me because the powers that be a Bravo are making all the calls Andy I have gotten.
Well, I just linked just bumped into Cynthia two days ago and she's not even on the show.
I forgot.
I've heard that, you know, yeah.
You could tell me what did she say?
No, no, no, no, I wouldn't tell you. She didn't say anything dealing with this, Okay. I know people have reached out to her since she and I bumped into each other, just trying to figure out what we were talking about, what we were doing, what was I saying. And I've also heard in the machine, yes, yes, I've also heard that those girls were told to not like talk to me, and I'm sure they were told not to talk.
Oh my god.
I was also told they was just did not bring my name up on the show on the Housewives show, like don't say my name? Oh no, come around. And they also heard they said, don't bring up, don't bash Andy, don't you know, don't associate with me, all that kind of stuff. And that's that's you know, so how can you have a friendship one? And that's just really messed up? Though.
Well, Andy's been making the rounds making phone calls saying, I hope you're not doing this thing with Bethany, which is like it's spaghetti against the wall. It's not going anywhere, so that he's making the calls though, and the producers or the production companies, they're making the rounds. That's those are the people. So the Andy's doing the marching orders, and so are the producers. And I love it, I love it deeply. But the powers that be, the people that run the multi billion dollar companies, they're coming up to me and saying, how can we talk? How can we sit down? How can we make this right?
Well, how can you believe that these people aren't playing both sides?
Which people the ponds or the big people, the big people or the big people, the big people, they're just no. They they're nervous because they don't want to get targeted and they want to play ball, which I'm for because it's about change. It's not about only gotcha, it's about don't be fucking stupid. I'll come in and tell you what needs to change. So you're either on this train or get out of the way. It's not going to work.
Well, how did you feel after you and I talked and and our podcast came out, and then all of a sudden, on Andy's show, Watch what Happens Live the Ladies, I don't know the ladies their names. I think they're New York housewives. Yeah. When they started saying that you they felt like you were I.
Don't know, the most irrelevant housewife.
Yeah, of all times.
Right, It's it's like, but it's called if you're going to take a right, the most right, if you're going to take a shot at this be, you better not miss Andy. You got to get creative. Like that was a little too obvious, Like we both know that. The producer question, what does that mean? That irrelevant means I'm not it? I'm no Like relevant is like you're Yeah, you're very, you're powerful, you're current your topic.
Right, Okay, so.
So say I'm the ugliest of all time, But you cannot say that I'm not relevant. I mean that's ridiculous. Like so say anything. I'm dumb. I I don't know what you want to say. I'm me. But that's so they just they took a shot at this be, but it didn't land because the audience knew, just like the last time, the audience knew, I was being ambushed. So you're gonna do it, you better do it right.
So are these New York housewives those girls? Yeah?
But also you can't blame them because they.
Are not the I know, and also they gonna pick it, you know, and they probably you know, given like who's who do you think is there?
Or they're just smart enough to know that I ironically am so relevant that by mentioning me, they got a week oppressed, which is what did happen? Yeah, so they're you know, it's a small show. They're getting not a ton of ratings. They gotta squeeze that. They gotta squez that lemon, get all the juice out, they gotta try this is it? It could be. I don't think there's gonna be another New York. I don't know what the franchise is going to do because the shit's coming down. And as I talk to all of these women, they're calling me and they're saying a couple things that are very cult like they're like very scared, and it's weird. I've been deprogrammed from this experience way longer than even you. You still had like you still have like PTSD. So like I felt a little bit like almost like bad, like you had identify with your captor, and like I felt like this loyalty to Andy that I was betraying when he's never been loyal to me, as I said, So think about the other girls that are closer in the machine, and they all have so much that's damaging against Andy and the machine. But they have this like sort of Stockholm syndrome wherey've identified with their captor and they feel this guilt and it's because they're still programmed. And each of them say that they've been promised like shows and that they're scared to bite the hand that feed them because they're gonna get these shows that I could tell you they're not going to get. And each of them thinks that they have a best friend relationship with Andy, like they're his best friend, you know. Tam Or the other day said, you know, he's like my brother. Don't you go to your brother's house with Thanksgiving? Like what do you mean he's like your brother. You've never met his friends, Like, he's not your brother. But every woman Jill really bonded with Andy on Judaism and other housewives on different things, whether it's sex or money or with he and I. He always want to hear about businesses. What am I doing in business? Like what am I doing? Money wise?
Like you too?
Right, So we all thought he had a different relationship, and he feeds off that because he has all the power, and we all get so dirty, and he stays clean. And they get everybody else to rat each other out and to kill each other and to whack each other, but they remain clean and they thrive on the power. I watched that show, and he remains clean. Well, not anymore, not anymore, not anymore. That's a reed.
That is a reed.
That that was not.
No, that was all.
I mean, what else? What else? That was?
That was it? That was all in