Andy Cohen: ‘I Was Wrong About Kim’
Andy Cohen, who just a few weeks ago stopped by Blake’s on the Park to recover after taping the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta Reunion’ at the Biltmore Hotel, dishes on our ladies in his new memoir, ‘Most Talkative,’ out today…
Cohen reveals that the Reunion episodes originally came about because of NeNe Leakes. ‘At the time ‘Atlanta’ premiered, it wasn’t a given that a reunion would follow every season. We didn’t build it into our schedule and didn’t assume there’d be a demand for one with every series. I got a voice mail from NeNe (the first time I’d ever had contact with her directly) saying, ‘I’m begging you to do a reunion, Andy. I want to confront Kim.’
Another excerpt from ‘Most Talkative’:
‘The next ‘Housewives’ edition to premiere was Atlanta, which would go on to become our highest-rated of all the cities in the franchise. We’d been sitting on a casting tape for a show called ‘Hotlanta’ for a while, featuring a group of affluent black women with energy and attitude. I was excited about the idea of doing a show featuring rich African Americans, a concept I hadn’t seen on TV since ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ The ‘Hotlanta’ women became ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta‘ and all I could say was, ‘BAM!’
Linnethia ‘NeNe’ Leakes was an instant standout, telling the camera even then, ‘I walk into a room and my eyes are popping and my lips are busting and BAM!’ But every time I watched the tape I became more confused by Kim Zolciak. I didn’t understand her role within the group – first all, and most obviously, she was white. Just as obvious, her blond mane was a full-on wig. She looked like a country singer to me and seemed more Nashville than Atlanta.
She just didn’t feel Bravo, which lots of analysts crunching numbers tell us is watched by the most upscale and educated audience on cable – lots of urban women and their gay best friends, along with hip suburban moms. A fair number of straight men get hooked on the Housewives, too, after their wives cajole them into watching. (My theory: They love having the green light to gawk at hot women with big knockers getting into catfights). Boy, was I wrong about Kim!”
- For more Atlanta Housewives gossip, get ‘Most Talkative’ now on Amazon.
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