On Sunday’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” reunion, Andy Cohen essentially placed a pot of water over a flame — and expected it not to boil.
Porsha Williams, the show’s scorned divorcee, sat just a seat away from her arch-nemesis, the judgmental Kenya Moore. Since the women were introduced on the show, their personalities clashed and they never really got along. Add to it Moore’s ridiculous onstage props (a megaphone and a sparkling scepter), and the elegantly staged reunion would naturally end in disaster.
Here’s background on what sparked the brawl: Moore accused Williams of engaging in an affair while she was still married to ex-husband Kordell Stewart. Williams returned the jab by calling Moore a “slut from the ’90s.” Moore, the former pageant queen, escalated the argument by calling Williams “a dumb ho” through her loud megaphone. The women got in each other’s faces, and Williams grabbed her enemy by the hair and dragged her across the floor. We know Williams was the attacker, but was she also provoked? After taunting Williams for months, did Moore deserve the attack? Cohen separated the two women and asked Williams to leave the reunion.
Both women have threatened to depart the series if the other stays. The question is: Which of the quarreling housewives should be removed from the show?
View videoHere are a five things Bravo should consider before making a final decision.
- Porsha was actually a housewife: The show has gotten far away from its original premise, that being a perspective on the lives of wealthy Southern housewives. Porsha was married until a few months ago to a former NFL star. Her status as an ex-wife gives her a little more cred than Kenya, who has yet to maintain a stable relationship on the show.
- About that African prince: Kenya wants everyone to believe that she’s moved on from her troubled relationship with Walter, an Atlanta businessman. Secretly, we think she still feels the tinge of embarrassment from her pseudo-relationship. However, this season she announced that she was seeing a new man, an “African prince” who lives in Nigeria. None of the housewives has met this mystery man, yet Kenya has stated she has plans to marry him and have children.
- Porsha is comic relief: She is no comedian, but her ability to bring on the laughs through dimwitted remarks is what makes her truly funny. In one episode, while on a tour of sites from the historical Underground Railroad in Savannah, she admitted that she thought the Underground Railroad was a real train. Unbelievably hilarious moments like that give the show balance among all the bitter spats.
- Porsha adds a youthful element: She is the little sister of the show. She relied on the advice and support of the other housewives to help her through her divorce. The older housewives impart knowledge and life lessons to her.
- None of the Housewives really likes Kenya: Count Phaedra, Nene, Kandi and obviously Porsha out of the running of people who would call Kenya Moore a friend. Their interactions with Kenya appear to be a forced effort on the part of the producers to drum up controversy. Moore’s dramatic antics and her need to constantly stir the pot have left her on a lonely island all by herself.