Real Housewives of Atlanta Fight Recap: What happened? Your guess is as good as mine
buzzz worthy. . .
By Mona Austin
Since the days of smut show host Jerry Springer, adults behaving badly have been the center of money-making, ratings-boasting, must-see T.V. The "Jerry Springer Show" primed and desensitized viewers to accepting non-fictional violence so that by the time reality T.V. penetrated programming, grown folks beating the snot out of each other in front of millions of voyeuristic viewers was the unfortunate norm. Before I recap the most recent episode of the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" (RHOA) I want to point out Springer did not tolerate men and women going at each other, which is a comparison I never thought I'd be able to make given the level of success of some of the RHOA cast mates. Unfortunately, based on the most recent episode, several women on the RHOA don't seem to have a problem with a man being physically aggressive toward a woman.
I'll explain why I came to that conclusion, but first here are deets on the previous episode to get you caught up:
In typical housewives fashion, the ladies chose an upscale venue for an mess fest outing. Their meeting place was a nicely appointed hilltop winery. They were transported by private bus, arriving clad like urban royalty, but once they got pass playing nice ratchet conduct soon took over.
A new woman, Natalie, was introduced to the group as R&B singer Christopher Williams' wife. (Natalie and Christopher are friends of Peter and Cynthia and were introduced on the show in the episode before this one, where she told Cynthia Kandi's man Todd was a "hustler.") Having worked with Williams in a play Kenya was quick to point out that the singer never acknowledged the woman (who claimed they were married for 18 years) as his wife, only as his "common law wife" -- because that's what ex-beauty queens with mommy issues do -- slay other women that they don't even know with the bat of each false lash. This time however, to be fair, Kenya made a valid point, saying in a Bravo.com blog post, “I found Natalie to have an agenda when she was speaking so negatively about Todd.” Natalie said she was friends with Todd's ex-girlfriend and knew that Todd was all about "coming up", which the ladies felt implied he was using Kandi. As we saw in earlier episodes this season, Momma Joyce told Kandi the same thing about Todd. "Going there" would have been touchy for anyone. In sheer school girl fashion, the ladies supported Kandi when she read Natalie, but the superficial nature of their relationship was still obvious.
With the the foundation of ill feelings among frenemies duly laid, the cast enters the next episode.
Nene said she hoped to clear the air around the inner group gossip and the "fakeness" among the women during "Pillow Talk." What better way to resolve conflict between rivals than at an adult pajama party? Nene said she invented "Pillow Talk" for couples (and other invited single guests,such as Porsha) to air out their issues among others with less than perfect marriage records as a form of "free therapy." ( Incidentally, most of the women opted to wear revealing negligees instead of PJ's.) Being half naked and hashing out their personal issues by answering highly invasive questions host/moderator Leakes compiled was exactly the type of "therapy" they needed to get betterratings relationships.
At the start of the couples "bonding" segment, Nene paced continually across the room with wine glass in hand like she was looking for a fight, casting a menacing mood in the atmosphere; I knew there would be trouble. She said she was "m-f-ing irritated" because Kenya was late. By the time she answered the door for Kenya and her assistant Brandon, Nene's level of irritability was at its max. Then the games began. . . .
One of the "Pillow Talk" questions pertained to how one would feel about their spouse frequenting a strip club. Both Peter, Cynthia's husband and Apollo, Phaedra Parks' husband said they are strip club regulars. However, Peter said he does not get lap dances. Kandi, gently claimed that when she saw Peter at a strip club, there was a woman on his lap. Apollo chimed in saying he has dropped as much as $8k per visit at a strip club. He'd been imprisoned and said after being released he used to (During the individual interview Kenya wondered where the money was coming from, a question that the Feds may have an answer to. Keep reading for the tea on why Apollo recently turned himself in to police.) After going off on Kenya for being late Nene instigated a confrontation between Kenya, Christopher and Natalie by having Christopher address a question about their marital status.
That's when the most violently explosive moment in RHOA history happened.
Christopher stood up to get something to eat and proceeded to address Kenya directly. Natalie and everyone else except NeNe was still sitting on the huge bean bags that where there to set the intimate atmosphere shouting at Kenya. Not to be outdone, Kenya began to walk toward Natalie to verbally defend herself directly in Natalie's face after being accused of back peddling. In summary, here's what happened next: Christopher grabbed Kenya's arms; she told him to keep his hands off her; Brandon stood up and told Christopher to take his hands off Kenya and assumed a protective fighting posture they; got in each other's face. Peter, Apollo and Greg stepped in to prevent a fight and a fight started, which left Apollo pounding on Brandon. I know it's confusing. It was all a blur, but like Brandon everyone in the room and viewers alike wondered, "What just happened?"
Phaedra was rightfully embarrassed as her ex-con spouse proved you can't turn a thug into a gentleman.
The episode ended with Phaedra preparing to take Apollo home and he dives at Brandon again!
The lavish party Phaedra hired Dwight to orchestrate for little "Mr. President" her second born would have been the talk of this episode, but her hubby became the focus after he tried to beat Brandon senseless at this gathering. Black families being unified and living well is more of what America needs to see. One man attempting to beat the life out of another is not.
I guess this was all just a big misunderstanding because Nene Leakes would NEVER condone violent behavior. in a Jan post on her official Web page Nene wrote:
This all out brawl was a first for RHOA. Over the life of the show while there have been some close calls, cast members have kept their desire to pounce on each other at bay. Although gutter-level drama seems to follow this group everywhere they go, this violent melee completely caught everyone off guard. Previews suggest that matters are only going to get worse.
Now, I'll address my original point. RHOA has sunken to a new low. It is unbelievable that someone got injured and the general consensus among Nene, Phaedra and Cynthia is that Kenya started the fight because she stood up. Christopher putting his hands on Kenya in the midst of a tense confrontation had nothing to do with it of course. Yet again this fight and the continued backstabbing on the show are a negative and dangerous reflection of African Americans in the media. Although Christopher did not hit Kenya, the mentality of her female co-hosts suggests that if he had Kenya would have deserved it. Springer didn't stoop that low. Their blaming the victim sends the wrong message when there is conflict between men and women and further proves that a session with "Dr. Leakes" was not the right vehicle to address issues among people who can't stand each other.
Unlike most reality T.V.shows where people come to blows, the RHOA stars are not a bunch of twenty somethings high on liquid courage. Everyone on RHOA is 30+ professional or semi-professional. The problem is when pride and ego swell to the point that a person only concentrate on what they can gain, all
Hanging out with people who tolerate you instead of celebrate you is not a good practice and in this case it proved to be dangerous.
As parents (with the exception of Kenya and Porsha) everyone involved in this show should ask themselves if the image they are presenting is something they would want their children to see or emulate.
For Apollo, the timing of this outburst could not have been worse considering the federal felony charges he is facing for identity theft, among other things. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports Nida, 35, surrendered to authorities this week after the U.S. District Attorney's office accused him of bank fraud by creating bank accounts using other people's names. Nida was released on $25,000 bail, after being charged on Jan. 23 with strict stipulations. He has to surrender his passport, maintain steady employment and report to a probation officer regularly.
In the book 'Lies of A Real Housewife' written in 2012, Angela Statton claims Phaedra is directly connected to her husband's criminal behavior. Statton says Apollo, his brother and Phaedra committed similar crimes with her for which he previously served 6 years on jail.
Brandon says he is suing Apollo for injuries he sustained during the brawl.
By Mona Austin
 |
| Attorney Phaedra Parks tries to hold her husband Apollo Nida back from a fight that broke out on Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 6. |
Since the days of smut show host Jerry Springer, adults behaving badly have been the center of money-making, ratings-boasting, must-see T.V. The "Jerry Springer Show" primed and desensitized viewers to accepting non-fictional violence so that by the time reality T.V. penetrated programming, grown folks beating the snot out of each other in front of millions of voyeuristic viewers was the unfortunate norm. Before I recap the most recent episode of the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" (RHOA) I want to point out Springer did not tolerate men and women going at each other, which is a comparison I never thought I'd be able to make given the level of success of some of the RHOA cast mates. Unfortunately, based on the most recent episode, several women on the RHOA don't seem to have a problem with a man being physically aggressive toward a woman.
I'll explain why I came to that conclusion, but first here are deets on the previous episode to get you caught up:
In typical housewives fashion, the ladies chose an upscale venue for an
A new woman, Natalie, was introduced to the group as R&B singer Christopher Williams' wife. (Natalie and Christopher are friends of Peter and Cynthia and were introduced on the show in the episode before this one, where she told Cynthia Kandi's man Todd was a "hustler.") Having worked with Williams in a play Kenya was quick to point out that the singer never acknowledged the woman (who claimed they were married for 18 years) as his wife, only as his "common law wife" -- because that's what ex-beauty queens with mommy issues do -- slay other women that they don't even know with the bat of each false lash. This time however, to be fair, Kenya made a valid point, saying in a Bravo.com blog post, “I found Natalie to have an agenda when she was speaking so negatively about Todd.” Natalie said she was friends with Todd's ex-girlfriend and knew that Todd was all about "coming up", which the ladies felt implied he was using Kandi. As we saw in earlier episodes this season, Momma Joyce told Kandi the same thing about Todd. "Going there" would have been touchy for anyone. In sheer school girl fashion, the ladies supported Kandi when she read Natalie, but the superficial nature of their relationship was still obvious.
With the the foundation of ill feelings among frenemies duly laid, the cast enters the next episode.
Nene said she hoped to clear the air around the inner group gossip and the "fakeness" among the women during "Pillow Talk." What better way to resolve conflict between rivals than at an adult pajama party? Nene said she invented "Pillow Talk" for couples (and other invited single guests,such as Porsha) to air out their issues among others with less than perfect marriage records as a form of "free therapy." ( Incidentally, most of the women opted to wear revealing negligees instead of PJ's.) Being half naked and hashing out their personal issues by answering highly invasive questions host/moderator Leakes compiled was exactly the type of "therapy" they needed to get better
At the start of the couples "bonding" segment, Nene paced continually across the room with wine glass in hand like she was looking for a fight, casting a menacing mood in the atmosphere; I knew there would be trouble. She said she was "m-f-ing irritated" because Kenya was late. By the time she answered the door for Kenya and her assistant Brandon, Nene's level of irritability was at its max. Then the games began. . . .
One of the "Pillow Talk" questions pertained to how one would feel about their spouse frequenting a strip club. Both Peter, Cynthia's husband and Apollo, Phaedra Parks' husband said they are strip club regulars. However, Peter said he does not get lap dances. Kandi, gently claimed that when she saw Peter at a strip club, there was a woman on his lap. Apollo chimed in saying he has dropped as much as $8k per visit at a strip club. He'd been imprisoned and said after being released he used to (During the individual interview Kenya wondered where the money was coming from, a question that the Feds may have an answer to. Keep reading for the tea on why Apollo recently turned himself in to police.) After going off on Kenya for being late Nene instigated a confrontation between Kenya, Christopher and Natalie by having Christopher address a question about their marital status.
That's when the most violently explosive moment in RHOA history happened.
Christopher stood up to get something to eat and proceeded to address Kenya directly. Natalie and everyone else except NeNe was still sitting on the huge bean bags that where there to set the intimate atmosphere shouting at Kenya. Not to be outdone, Kenya began to walk toward Natalie to verbally defend herself directly in Natalie's face after being accused of back peddling. In summary, here's what happened next: Christopher grabbed Kenya's arms; she told him to keep his hands off her; Brandon stood up and told Christopher to take his hands off Kenya and assumed a protective fighting posture they; got in each other's face. Peter, Apollo and Greg stepped in to prevent a fight and a fight started, which left Apollo pounding on Brandon. I know it's confusing. It was all a blur, but like Brandon everyone in the room and viewers alike wondered, "What just happened?"
Phaedra was rightfully embarrassed as her ex-con spouse proved you can't turn a thug into a gentleman.
The episode ended with Phaedra preparing to take Apollo home and he dives at Brandon again!
The lavish party Phaedra hired Dwight to orchestrate for little "Mr. President" her second born would have been the talk of this episode, but her hubby became the focus after he tried to beat Brandon senseless at this gathering. Black families being unified and living well is more of what America needs to see. One man attempting to beat the life out of another is not.
I guess this was all just a big misunderstanding because Nene Leakes would NEVER condone violent behavior. in a Jan post on her official Web page Nene wrote:
" I’ve been on this show from the very beginning and we have NEVER had a physical altercation on this show! I am all about a good read, throwing shade and even getting you together when need be but violence is never okay to me. I think it’s a sad display of behavior and I think it is sad to the black community to be a part of such negative activity! I am bigger, I am better and for that I apologize!" Nene LeakesAnother side of Appollo is slowly coming to light just as he seemed to wiggle his way out of the being accused of texting Kenya. (Incidentally, he did not want to hold Phaedra's hand at their son's event after he walked her down the stairs. There seems to be trouble in paradise, but Phaedra will reportedly represent her hubby in court as Brandon filed assault charges. Phaedra recently tweeted that she will "Never" divorce.)
This all out brawl was a first for RHOA. Over the life of the show while there have been some close calls, cast members have kept their desire to pounce on each other at bay. Although gutter-level drama seems to follow this group everywhere they go, this violent melee completely caught everyone off guard. Previews suggest that matters are only going to get worse.
Now, I'll address my original point. RHOA has sunken to a new low. It is unbelievable that someone got injured and the general consensus among Nene, Phaedra and Cynthia is that Kenya started the fight because she stood up. Christopher putting his hands on Kenya in the midst of a tense confrontation had nothing to do with it of course. Yet again this fight and the continued backstabbing on the show are a negative and dangerous reflection of African Americans in the media. Although Christopher did not hit Kenya, the mentality of her female co-hosts suggests that if he had Kenya would have deserved it. Springer didn't stoop that low. Their blaming the victim sends the wrong message when there is conflict between men and women and further proves that a session with "Dr. Leakes" was not the right vehicle to address issues among people who can't stand each other.
Unlike most reality T.V.shows where people come to blows, the RHOA stars are not a bunch of twenty somethings high on liquid courage. Everyone on RHOA is 30+ professional or semi-professional. The problem is when pride and ego swell to the point that a person only concentrate on what they can gain, all
Hanging out with people who tolerate you instead of celebrate you is not a good practice and in this case it proved to be dangerous.
As parents (with the exception of Kenya and Porsha) everyone involved in this show should ask themselves if the image they are presenting is something they would want their children to see or emulate.
For Apollo, the timing of this outburst could not have been worse considering the federal felony charges he is facing for identity theft, among other things. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports Nida, 35, surrendered to authorities this week after the U.S. District Attorney's office accused him of bank fraud by creating bank accounts using other people's names. Nida was released on $25,000 bail, after being charged on Jan. 23 with strict stipulations. He has to surrender his passport, maintain steady employment and report to a probation officer regularly.
In the book 'Lies of A Real Housewife' written in 2012, Angela Statton claims Phaedra is directly connected to her husband's criminal behavior. Statton says Apollo, his brother and Phaedra committed similar crimes with her for which he previously served 6 years on jail.
Brandon says he is suing Apollo for injuries he sustained during the brawl.
