Latest / The Breakfast Club / Nene Returns to RHOA

Transcript

Nene Returns to RHOA · The Breakfast Club

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  Speaker 1: I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and everybody. You hear that exclusive? You don't feel alive
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: out there, right? Lauren came in hot. Hey, y'all, what's up?
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is another episode of The
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on
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  Speaker 2: all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the
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  Speaker 2: conversations that shake the room, baby. Now, y'all know we
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: kick off The Latest with Lauren LaRosa with a check-in
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: behind the scenes of The Grind, so let's get to it.
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  Speaker 3: Back on The Grind.
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  Speaker 1: Grind it.
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  Speaker 3: All right, y'all.
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  Speaker 1: So we are here. It is. I was going to
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: say we are on our way to Labor Day weekend,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: but y'all, we are here. It is here. Finally, a
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  Speaker 1: four day freaking weekend. Well, wait, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: I guess it's three days because as a grown adult over,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: I think once you graduate from. I was going to
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: say high school, but kind of like college, depending on
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: what your work life is like. Friday don't really count
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  Speaker 2: as the weekend because Friday is still so much hustle bustle.
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  Speaker 2: You got to get up early. You got to do
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  Speaker 2: all these things. By the time you get back to
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  Speaker 2: your home Friday after adulting, you just need some time
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  Speaker 2: to regroup. The weekend starts Saturday. OK, so a four
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: day weekend would include us having Friday off. But for
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  Speaker 2: the most of us, we do not. A lot of
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  Speaker 2: a lot of us, we have Monday off, though, which
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  Speaker 2: is the Labor Day. the Labor Day holiday so I
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  Speaker 2: don't know how you guys will be spending your holiday
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  Speaker 2: make sure you're letting me know though tagging me in
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  Speaker 2: all of the photos whether it's the family barbecue the
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  Speaker 2: spades game the outing with your homegirls where y'all ordering
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  Speaker 2: appetizers like drug dealers or whatever the case may be
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  Speaker 2: let me know get in the streets get in the
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: tweets and the reason why I say let me know
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  Speaker 2: is because I think that we should make a conscious
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  Speaker 2: effort to take breaks Now, you guys know along the journey,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: I am learning when breaks are okay and when they
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: are not okay. I think they're always okay, but basically
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  Speaker 2: like when it's time to break and when it's time
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  Speaker 2: to not. This weekend, I'm looking forward to, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I'll still be working. I'll still be around.
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  Speaker 1: Y'all know me.
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  Speaker 2: The grind don't stop, but I am going to take
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  Speaker 2: a bit of a reprieve some. So I'll be doing
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  Speaker 2: a little staycation upstate New York for some time and
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  Speaker 2: then spending the rest of the weekend with the family.
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  Speaker 2: So I am I'm looking forward to that. And I
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  Speaker 2: think anytime I do things like this, you guys can
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  Speaker 2: like hear the difference and see the difference in me.
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  Speaker 1: I know I can hear and see it in myself.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that that, I mean, it just, look,
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  Speaker 2: we talked about it in the last episode of the
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  Speaker 2: latest with Lauren La Rosa.
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  Speaker 1: Rust and prioritize the rust be important, man.
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  Speaker 3: It do.
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  Speaker 1: So I hope you guys are taking care.
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  Speaker 2: The Labor Day holiday to get your rest on, get
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  Speaker 2: you outside on if that's what you're doing. But also, too,
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  Speaker 2: if you are working this weekend, don't be upset about it. Baby,
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  Speaker 2: let me tell you something. I remember working jobs where, like,
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  Speaker 2: you would get the holiday time and a half. Oh, baby,
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  Speaker 2: sign me up for each and every holiday. So if
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  Speaker 2: that is you and you are listening to this podcast
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  Speaker 2: today while you at work getting your coin, baby.
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  Speaker 1: Get your coin, okay? Period.
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  Speaker 2: Now let's get on into the latest news. Speaking of
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  Speaker 2: getting your coin, this episode, let me just, okay. Let
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  Speaker 2: me take some time and really take my time with
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  Speaker 2: the intro of our topic for the day. We ain't
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  Speaker 2: even gonna talk about nothing else because this topic, this person,
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  Speaker 2: she deserves.
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  Speaker 1: The full episode. And it is long overdue. We are
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  Speaker 1: now almost a week since NeNe Leakes returned to Bravo.
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  Speaker 4: Bravo.
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  Speaker 1: Did you guys hear me?
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  Speaker 2: I said it has been almost a week since NeNe
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  Speaker 2: Leakes returned to Bravo and the Real Housewives of Atlanta
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  Speaker 2: kinda-ish adjacent. Because NeNe Leakes appeared in Real Housewives Ultimate
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Girls Trip. This is 20 years of Real Housewives. Like
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: the franchise Real Housewives has been on television for 20 years.
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  Speaker 2: We talked about this in a previous episode of The
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  Speaker 2: Latest with Lauren LaRosa that NeNe Leakes was returning to
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  Speaker 2: Bravo via Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. Now, this has
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: been such a thing for several reasons. I mean, NeNe Leakes,
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: we know, is the mother of.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Housewives. I was going to say of.
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  Speaker 2: I was going to say is the mother of Real
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Housewives of Atlanta, but it's not just that. Like when
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: the franchise was.
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  Speaker 1: Very, very, very, very new.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: And I, I don't remember it in it, in its inception. Um,
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  Speaker 2: I forget what year I started watching the housewives. I
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: do know when I started watching Portia was still with Cordell.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: So it was pretty early on. I probably, I was,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: that was in the, some of the opening, you know,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: few seasons, but there had already been seasons prior to that. Um,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: But NeNe Man and her one-liners, her comebacks, her life,
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: you know, getting to watch her marriage with Greg, God
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: Rest His Soul, was so iconic for the franchise and
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: what she did and how she literally carried the show
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  Speaker 2: on its back. And the reason why I think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I know, listen, I got very emotional watching NeNe Leakes
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  Speaker 2: return to the Real Housewives show. in any capacity. And
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  Speaker 2: I know some of the other women from the other
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  Speaker 2: franchises on this Ultimate Girl Trip did as well, too,
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  Speaker 2: is because when we think about reality television, no matter
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: if you like it, if you love it, if you
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: hate it, when we think about what reality TV has
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  Speaker 2: been able to do and become as a vehicle and
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  Speaker 2: business for women and how we've watched it over the years,
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  Speaker 2: it's something pretty amazing to think about. I mean, you
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  Speaker 2: think about NeNe Leakes, you think about Kim Kardashian, you
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: think about Portia Williams, You think about so many different
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: women who Lisa Vanderpump and everything that she's been able
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  Speaker 2: to do with, like, you know, television and restaurants and the.
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  Speaker 1: Life that she built.
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  Speaker 2: Like, it's pretty amazing to see how, you know, what
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  Speaker 2: started out as just like an experiment to follow women
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  Speaker 2: in their integral stages of being housewives, like legit women
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  Speaker 2: in the house. some having to work, some having to
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  Speaker 2: stay home, what that has blossomed into thanks to the
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  Speaker 2: likes of television and, you.
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  Speaker 1: Know, the growth of television.
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  Speaker 2: Now into streaming and the internet and these businesses that
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  Speaker 2: these women have been able to build in parallel with
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  Speaker 2: the fact that they appear on this platform with all
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  Speaker 2: of these viewers day by day.
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  Speaker 1: Now, before we get into Nene and, you.
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  Speaker 2: Know, the most recent episode of Real Housewives, Ultimate Girls Trip,
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  Speaker 2: I want to take a step back and talk a
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: bit about, you know, for those of you guys who
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: do not watch Real Housewives, what Real Housewives is and
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: how it began. Now, Real Housewives across, right? So you
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: have Real Housewives in Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Potomac. The Real
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  Speaker 2: Housewives show originally began because there were all these women
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: who were getting out in the workforce, you know, not
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: just sitting up under their rich husbands, really building a
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: life and building a brand for themselves. And producers got
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: together and wanted to showcase this. I watched an interview that,
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  Speaker 2: you know, a ton of the OGs across the Housewives
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  Speaker 2: franchise did, including my girl Portia Williams.
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  Speaker 1: She held it down for Atlanta.
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  Speaker 2: And they talked about the beginning stages of it and
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: how in the beginning of the Real Housewives, when they
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: came to some of these women... Literally, you didn't even
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  Speaker 2: know that this was going to turn into Real Housewives.
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  Speaker 2: They were pitched the show as like something named completely different.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: According to USTVDB.com, which is an online site that ranks
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: TV ratings across different networks and shows and it breaks
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  Speaker 2: it down into like market and all these things. The
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Real Housewives get anywhere between 500 to 800,000 live cable
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: viewers every.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we know cable looks different now. Like, for instance,
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  Speaker 1: I watch it on YouTube TV.
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  Speaker 2: So it's not real cable per episode through multi-platform streaming numbers.
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  Speaker 1: And what they continue to.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: Go on and say is because the streaming has become
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  Speaker 2: so big and diverse, like you can watch Real Housewives
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  Speaker 2: live on YouTube television. But then you can also watch
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: it through a partnership with that Bravo has with Amazon Prime.
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  Speaker 2: Like there are so many different ways to watch it.
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  Speaker 2: it now goes into the millions of live viewers per episode.
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  Speaker 2: So you think about that and you think about, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the exposure and how these women in the businesses that
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: they've been able to build across the platform have like
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  Speaker 2: elevated their lives. So when we talk about NeNe Leakes
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  Speaker 2: and we talk about, you know, NeNe Leakes coming on
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  Speaker 2: to Real Housewives in Atlanta back in 2008, her first
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: season or her first appearance on Real Housewives of Atlanta
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  Speaker 2: was October 7th, 2008. She was an original cast member
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  Speaker 2: for seasons one through seven. And then she returned in
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  Speaker 2: a reporting role in season eight, which is normally like
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  Speaker 2: a friend of the show. And then she ended up
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: coming back on as a full cast member a few
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  Speaker 2: seasons later. And then 2020, she departed the show. But
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  Speaker 2: when you think about this, right, in 2008, and think
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: about how different things are now in 2006, even from,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: you know, Nene departed the show in 2020, even from
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: season 12 in 2020, where Nene departed the show. And
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: when she departed, it was like, You slowly watched her just, like,
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  Speaker 2: not want to be there. Like, she was not showing
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  Speaker 2: up in a lot of the episodes. When she was
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: in the episodes, she was barely participating. Like, it was
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  Speaker 2: so different than what we had grew to know Nene
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  Speaker 2: to be and how we knew her to captivate on
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  Speaker 2: the show. I think, you know, her spirit was broken.
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  Speaker 2: She was going through things with the network. There were
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: conversations at the time that... You know, Nene was fighting
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: for like her own spinoff show and it was never
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: given to her. She actually talked about this and talked
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: about how she felt like all of the spinoff shows
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: and different favorites and different things went to Candy Burrs,
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: formerly of Escape Businesswoman, but also a huge face and
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: one of the, you know, OGs.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: From Real Housewives of Atlanta.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: But it is iconic to see her return because honestly,
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  Speaker 2: I feel like because Nene was, she was such a
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: big part of creating what was the buzz around the
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: housewives and.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Going all the way up into 2020. So social media
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: is rampant. Things are good. My girl's going viral. She's everywhere.
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  Speaker 2: But I feel like Nene never really got her number one,
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  Speaker 2: her flowers for how she carried the franchise on her back.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: That's number one. Like, no matter... You know, don't get
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: me wrong.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: Having Kenya Moore, Kandi Burr, Cynthia Bailey, Phaedra, NeNe Leakes,
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: and then Portia.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: Portia, at one point, y'all, she was the newcomer.
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  Speaker 2: Like, now she's the face of Rural Housewives of Atlanta, but, like,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: she was the new girl. Kim Zolciak, especially NeNe and Kim, right?
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Having all of these girls together in the back and forth, like...
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  Speaker 2: you know, that time was so golden. And I think,
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: you know, as a lot of the original cast members,
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: you know, fell off of the show and I fell
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: off in life, but just like, we're no longer on
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: the show and things advanced. I think the conversation, um,
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: it just never was in my opinion, given in any
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: way that it deserved to be. I think people say
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: it because it is true. And I think we say
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: it in passing a lot, but I mean, there was recently, um,
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: you know, a Wifetime Achievement Award that Bravo did during
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: BravoCon back in 2025 in Las Vegas. And Kandi Burst
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: won the award. And don't get me wrong, I loved
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Kandi on Housewives. Kandi was one of, like, Kandi was
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: one of the girls that you watch, especially because in
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: the business world, she was eating it up.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Like, she, Kandi owned damn near half of Atlanta. Okay?
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: But I remember during that time, it was just, people
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: were really sad to see that Nene was not honored then. So, like,
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: on the platform, when Bravo, you know, could have made
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: the choice to do certain things, it didn't happen. And
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: I think that's why public conversation around Nene, even though
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: you know she was that girl, like, if you ever
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: really tuned into the Housewives, you know Nene was the girl.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: I think publicly, across certain platforms, she just doesn't get
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: the justice that she deserves. And I think watching her
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, it was like, finally, finally.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: Like, finally, like, Andy Cohen know what's up. Like, he knows, okay?
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: He is a producer.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: You know, he is also one of the faces of
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Real Housewives across the franchise because of, you know, just, hey, he.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Brought the girls to the world.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: But I think when you have, it's like when you
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: think about Kim Kardashian and Ryan Seacrest, right? Like, when
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: Ryan Seacrest brought the Kardashians to E!, not only did
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: he run, gun, yell, and scream about those girls, but,
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: and he made the network theirs. Like, if I'm being honest, like,
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: E-network was owned, not literally, but like the Kardashians took
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: up a lot of space on E-network. I think we
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: expected to see that from Nene. It was very disheartening
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: to hear, you know, all those years back that Nene
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: thought that, you know, she was being blocked from getting
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: certain spinoff shows and different things. Um, Because I think,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: you know, she deserved it, number one. But I also
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: think that, like, the storylines were always there for her naturally. Like,
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: whether it was about her and Greg and their marriage.
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: And we had known to literally love and we had
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: grown to love Greg and her marriage so much. Whether
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: it was about, you know, different things that we were
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: seeing in the news.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: With her children.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Whether it was just about her and her business endeavors
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: and the different things that she was attempting to do
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: in Hollywood. I also feel like Hollywood never fully leaned
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: into NeNe Leakes the way that I thought that they would.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: You know, and I think at one point in time
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: it was very divided. And I think NeNe coming up
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: in reality TV, again, is a part of that. Being
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: the reality TV star who accumulates wealth and success is...
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: It's not as easy to do today because I feel
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: like that reality TV show world is so oversaturated. But, like,
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: if you think of a Kim Kardashian and now what
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: Portia Williams is doing, it was possible. But because Nene
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: came up in a time where, you know, reality TV
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: was almost, like, looked down upon.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: It was like, ugh, y'all doing that little reality TV thing? Like, okay.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Like when Kim Kardashian came into the fashion game, when
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: she was dating Kanye West all those years ago, prior
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: to all, you know, the kids, all the things.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: I remember, you know, being widely known.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: And Kanye talking about the fact that he was uninvited
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: from fashion shows because he wanted to bring Kim Kardashian.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, the sex tape definitely played a part.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: But also reality TV, it was tabloidy. Like people didn't
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: want to be with the reality TV stars.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: That changed a lot.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: So Nene kind of like matured through and grew in
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: fame and wealth and success through an era where people
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: didn't want to give it to the girls on the
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: reality TV show side. And then eventually the ties changed
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: and they became the celebrity.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: Like, period.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: First before we go into it. So rural housewives, ultimate
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: girls trip. For those of you guys.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Who just don't know, um, is a show.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Where they bring together all of housewives from like different franchises.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: So this one, because it's celebrating 20 years of housewives
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: and you know, how iconic the show as a business
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: model and as a television, um, and entertainment, uh, dynasty
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: has been, it's kind of like watching sorority sisters get together.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: So on this cast for ultimate girls trip, we have Portia.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: She's there representing the OGs of Atlanta, which I thought
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: also was, it was crazy to see because I remember
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Portia when she first began the show. And like, again,
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: she was like, this young green eyed housewife who was
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: being treated horribly by her husband.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: And she's come up so much since then.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Um, but when you think of OGs from Atlanta, I
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: think Portia is like one of the newer faces of
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: like the OG world of Atlanta. But you do think Nene,
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: you do think, um, you know, some of the older girls, um,
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: But you have Portia Williams representing Atlanta. You have Vicky
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: representing Orange County. You have Luann, okay, representing New York.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: Therese Giudice representing Jersey. Kyle Richards from Beverly Hills. Giselle,
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: my girl. She's also one of our Black Effect cousins
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: with Reasonably Shady, her podcast. She's representing Real Housewives of
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: Potomac and Lisa Barlow from Salt Lake City.
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: So.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: They each take you to, like, their, like, city, right?
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: And they do, like, activities and they reminisce about different
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: things that have happened within their, like, franchise city of Housewives. So,
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Portia and each girl, like, drives that episode. So, Portia
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: is driving the episode for Atlanta. And we knew that
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: Nene was going to be.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: On the show.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: Earlier on, it was teased and we saw her when Portia...
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: All the girls were.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: Like, planning what they were going to do and who
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: they were going to bring on. Portia.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: brought nini nini was helping her pack for the trip
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: so we knew we were going to see nini we
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: just didn't know what was going to go down so
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: on the episode they are out at a drag show
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: in atlanta and nini surprises the girls like they know
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: because they're in atlanta that nini may pop up but
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: they don't know when and where but she pops up
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: on the stage at the drag show and literally like
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: i got teary-eyed because i felt like it was like
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: she was finally getting her like this is the house
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: that nini leaks built let's.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: Let's go. Let's go.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: Let's go. Oh, my.
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: God.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: Oh, my God.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: Oh, my God. Where you belong. Yes, Mimi. Yeah. Yeah.
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: Let me get.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Up to your height. All right. Okay, y'all the same size.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: I am so emotional because it just feels like you're
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: long lost family and you're.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Back together again. It's like a really big reunion of sorts.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: I'm so happy to see her. So well-deserved.
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: And when Nene teased the fact that her episode of
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip was going to be coming up,
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: She actually like recreated one of her like iconic looks.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: She had like a, it's like a, there's like a black,
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: it's like a bodycon dress and these like throwback Louboutin
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: heels from one of her iconic moments on the show.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: She redid that look. Um, and was like promoting a
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: tequila collab.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: You know, my girl getting her coin promoting a tequila, uh,
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: not tequila collab, promoting a drink cocktail collab that she has.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: And yeah, following the episode because there was such an
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: outpouring of love like i mean it trends every week
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: when it was coming on but it was trending that
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: week that day that sunday when it came on and
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: mind you guys again we're headed into another episode and
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: nini is going to be on the second episode so
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: i'm like this is well overdue my girl been deserved
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: her flowers over here giving them to her now um
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: it was trending because we all felt like the cast
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: did like yes finally And I also think, you know,
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: in hindsight, it's also just good to see Portia Williams
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: and Nene Leakes back together again. We know they was
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: having some issues, okay? Portia Williams was not too fond
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: of the fact that Nene Leakes hung out with her ex,
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: double dated with her ex during all of their, like,
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: you know, ups and downs. And Nene Leakes had alleged
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: that Portia Williams... try to stop her bag, but they
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: had gotten, you know, way far since then. So it
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: was good to see that, especially knowing that at one
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: point when, you know, Portia, you know, as Portia was
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: navigating things, Nene and her were actually like, they.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Were good at one point, really, really good at one point.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: And I think what they got to share in the moment,
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: which I thought was another amazing piece of production from
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: the producers was, The parallel. Portia Williams is the face
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: of Rural Housewives of Atlanta currently, and she's doing a
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: damn good job of it. NeNe Leakes was the face
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: for so long and we talk a lot when it
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: comes to reality stars about the fact that we are
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: always in their business and always in their life and
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: the peace of mind that does not get to come
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: with that sometimes and Portia Williams had a spinoff. It
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: was a show about her family when she was married
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: to Dennis McKinley, who does the hot dog shops and
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: a ton of other investments. I know he's working with
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: Rolling Out, the magazine, the legendary black magazine now. But
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: she did a family show.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Did not go well. It was a mess, y'all.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: It was entertaining to watch, but it just, it was
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: no way that her spirit sat well after that. Watching
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: her family and just all of the antics and the
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: back and forth and all the drama and And Anini Leakes,
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: as we know, since really 2020, has been taking a
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: break from Housewives. They got to talk about the peace
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: of mind you gather in that time and the feeling
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: of the peace of mind and knowing what to protect.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Let's take a listen.
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: I miss you guys.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: We miss you. Have you been happy to be removed?
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: Missing it?
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: A little bit of both?
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: You know what?
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Was it hard?
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: In the beginning, I was happy to be gone, honestly.
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: Because it was just a heavy time. At first, you
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: feel a little bit like, I mean, they're shooting without me? Like,
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: how the hell does that go?
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: How'd it work?
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: Like, you start feeling, yeah. You feel really weird. In
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: a weird way, we're like all sisters, right? I'm still
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: very connected to these girls. But at first, it does
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: take some time to set in. You were fine leaving,
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: weren't you?
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: When I left, I thought I was going to be
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: completely done with Housewives. I just wanted to see what
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: life was like outside of the camera. But during those
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: three years, I got peace.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Peace. Right?
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: But let me tell you, with that peace that you found,
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: You're very protective of it.
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: Meaning, like, when I got back on the camera, if
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: we're going to be talking about something and we're dealing
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: with it, it's got.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: To be some real shit.
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: That's why I was telling her, I was like, it's
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: going to be difficult at first.
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Because look how she look now. She clearly had peace.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Don't worry, we're going to take it away
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: from you.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: But it's always on time, okay? When something is for you,
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: my pastor says when something is for you, it can
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: pass you by. And I think, you know, the saying,
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: when something is for you, it is for you. you
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: couple those together. And I think what that means is
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: preparation is the best, you know, thing before success period, right?
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: Like you got to prepare, you got to know what
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: you're doing and then the success will come.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: That accomplishment will come. That next open door will come.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: But at the same time, I think a person's presence
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: being felt doesn't happen with everybody. Me, me got this
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: in the bag when it comes to, her wittiness, her quickness,
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: her ability to entertain, but most importantly, her ability to
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: be vulnerable. It is so difficult to be on a
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: public platform with millions of people watching, judging you, and
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: sharing their opinions about you every single day. NeNe Leakes
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: not only handled it with grace, but she handled it
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: through the death of her husband. She has handled it through,
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: you know, medical things within her family, you know, with
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: her sons, one of her sons. You know, we've seen
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: stories about him being arrested for different things. She's handled
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: it through upsets with the different girls on the show.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: She's handled it through not feeling appreciated, not getting business
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: opportunities she believes she should have gotten, getting those opportunities
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: as well. So being on these highs and these lows,
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: but one thing she has done, she has handled it.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: And I think when you think about what's yours is
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: never going to pass you by, I think that saying
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: reigns true and the whole it can pass you by doesn't.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Because some things are just in you, they're not on you.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: It just is.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: And watching Nene back in this space, you can tell
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: she's a little timid and warming up to the girls,
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: but watching her back in this space.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Baby, the star is here. Period.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: And I also want to commend Portia Williams for Making
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: sure that room was made for Nene, because I think,
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: you know, and I don't know this to be facts.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: I would love to have either one of the women
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: on the show. Maybe we could do that to talk
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: about how it came about, how the idea of bringing
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Nene back onto Ultimate Girls Trip, you know, how that
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: all came about. But like, you know, what I do
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: know is that when Portia Williams was here on The
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: Breakfast Club, she talked about being back on Housewives now
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: as a face. And she talked about, you know, being
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: in a different space where, you know, she does have
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: a bit more control over how her story is told
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: and what is happening with her because of, you know,
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: her leverage with the network.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: So you have to, you.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: Know, and knowing that you have to think about the
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: fact that this was something that like Portia would have
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: ushered in. Like, yes, let's make sure we have Nene.
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: We're going to do 20 years of Housewives. We got
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: to give it to her. We We got to give
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: her the space, the platform, the stage, and the flowers.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: I love that. Love to see it. Because that world
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: can get catty, don't get me wrong. But, look.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: The girls get through it. They get through it with grace.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, it really is
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: like watching a sorority. So I don't know if I just,
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: if I just hazed and, you know, adopted y'all on
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: into the sorority. Those of you guys who don't even
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: watch Real Housewives of Atlanta and are like, who are
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: these people she's talking about? One thing that is consistent
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: throughout all of this, even though they get a little crazy.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: you know, the back and forth gets a little crazy,
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: is that we are watching, especially on Housewives of Atlanta, because,
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, shout out to Bozeman St. John on Beverly Hills,
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: you know, and Giselle and some of the girlies over
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: in Maryland. But when it comes to black women and
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: watching them maneuver business and platform and understanding how to
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: make $ 1 turn to a million on their way to
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: a billion, World Housewives of Atlanta has been that platform
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: for some time. And I look, I'm watching the girlies, okay?
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: This has been another episode of The Latest with Lauren LaRosa.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: I tell y'all every single episode, y'all could be anywhere
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: with any old body, but baby, y'all choose to be
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: right here with me, my lowriders, every single episode.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: I appreciate y'all.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: If you did not watch Housewives or any of the
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: things I just talked about, now you're locked in. Ain't
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: no switching up. We'll be back with some more updates.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: I appreciate you guys. I'll catch you on my next one.