Ex ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star NeNe Leakes is taking a cue from her arch nemesis, talk show host Wendy Williams
The agent of the 47-year-old RHOA reality star has been putting out queries to some top African American female comics about ‘writing material for her comedy debut’, according to an email viewed by Daily Mail Online.
‘NeNe is looking for a ghost writer to help craft a comedy act so that she can have at least an hour of material to perform on stage,’ an insider revealed. ‘There’s a lot of money in performing stand-up, which is why Wendy Williams has ventured into it.’
The reality star’s fans were left devastated last week over the news that she won’t be returning for the new season of Real Housewives Of Atlanta.
But NeNe Leakes isn’t staying off TV screens for long, as the star announced that she has a new project in the works starring alongside veteran comedienne Betty White, 93.
The actress revealed on her blog: ‘When one door closes, another door opens!!!! Your girl is returning to prime time network TV on the new ABC variety series To Tell the Truth with Betty White and Anthony Anderson.’
But that isn’t the half of it for NeNe, who has seen how successful Williams has been on the comedy circuit.
Wendy announced on her daytime talk show last summer that she would be making her stand-up comedy debut to fulfill a ‘bucket list thing’ she’s wanted to do her entire life.
Sources close the situation claim the talk show host’s ‘bucket list’ venture was really a ‘pocket book deal’ that her manager/husband Kevin Hunter wanted her to do when The Venetian Hotel asked her to perform as part of their all-female comedy series called Lipshtick.
‘Vegas pays big bucks to comics and Kevin wasn’t turning that money down for nothing,’ the source explained. ‘So Wendy hired a comedy coach and began pulling together a show.’
Williams hired comedienne and Borat star Luenell to help craft her act, and since making her debut onstage last November has gone on to perform at least three other shows across the country. ‘The money has been so good that Wendy is doing a 12-city comedy tour during her talk show hiatus in August,’ the source said.
Daily Mail Online reported in May that former friends NeNe and Wendy had an altercation when both were booked at an event called The Ultimate Women’s Expo at Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
Their friendship came to an abrupt halt in July 2013 during a Hot Topics segment on Williams’ talk show where she discussed how Leakes had been receiving backlash online for a Twitter message criticizing the amount of new reality shows.
NeNe vowed never to return to Wendy’s show and then landed a development deal for a talk show of her own with Wendy’s distributor Debmar-Mercury.
Now NeNe, who prides herself on being ‘very rich,’ is trying to capitalize on the comedy market that Wendy is having success with. While the source wouldn’t reveal the names of clients that the reality star has asked to help teach her comedy, they did indicate they are some of the most-successful black female comediennes in the business, ‘several of them on daily TV shows’.
So far, no comic has agreed to sign on with her.
Comedy would provide an additional outlet for NeNe, who has tried her hand at acting several times though both shows have since been canceled.
A big fan of the reality star, Hollywood producer Ryan Murphy cast her on his series, ‘The New Normal’ and ‘Glee.’ Unfortunately, critics felt NeNe was playing a variation of herself in both parts.
The Athens, Georgia native also starred as Madame in the Broadway production of ‘Cinderella.’
Though NeNe may be looking to expand into comedy, there’s one situation she’s definitely not laughing about. The reality star’s oldest son Bryson Bryant was arrested last week in Douglas, GA in connection with a check forgery case.
The 25-year-old was not charged with check forgery, as the fake check was written out to him and he had not cashed it. But authorities claim Bryson provided the cops with a false name, a misdemeanor.
Source: Daily Mail
