NeNe Leakes: "Celebrity Apprentice" Finale

NeNe Leakes attends "The Celebrity Apprentice" Season 4 Finale at Trump SoHo on May 22, 2011 in New York City.

Credit: Zimbio

Photos by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images North America

Kim Zolciak to Kelly Bensimon: "Grow Up"

Kim Zolciak had some strong words for Real Housewives of New York star Kelly Bensimon on Twitter today -- but then she apparently took them back.

The pregnant Real Housewives of Atlanta star tweeted: "How disgusting Kelly from RHONY to make comments about my unborn child and Kroy! Grow up and keep my name outta ur mouth!" (Real Housewives gossiping about each other? Shocking!)

Kim removed the post from her Twitter page just a few minutes later, but it was too late. A few of her fans had already retweeted the message to their followers.

(Lesson for Kim: Once you put something in the Twitterverse, you just can't take it back.)

Credit: Stars of Reality

NeNe Leakes Spotted Out In West Hollywood

Nene Leakes may have left Celebrity Apprentice in dramatic fashion on Sunday night’s show, but she showed no signs of hostility when she was snapped in West Hollywood just hours later.

The ever-dramatic Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member looked exceedingly chipper as the paps caught her chatting on the phone while out shopping West Hollywood.

Credit: Celebuzz (Wes Ferguson)

NeNe: Celebrity Apprentice Was 'Toxic' for Me

NeNe Leakes never had second thoughts about quitting Celebrity Apprentice. It all just got to be too much, she says.

"I don't regret it. I felt very good about it. I always do what my gut tells me to do," the Real Housewives of Atlanta star says in an interview airing Wednesday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

She adds: "I'm a grown woman, and nobody makes decisions for me. I make my own decisions. It was a toxic situation for me."

Particularly poisonous, of course, was her feud with Star Jones. In an episode two weeks ago, Leakes unloaded on Jones in front of a client, then walked off the show. She doesn't regret that either, but admits it didn't need to get that ugly.

"I needed to get it out," she says. "I wish I could have maybe had a different delivery, maybe better word choices, but I'm OK with it. I felt she deserved it. I know everybody in Hollywood knows I'm telling the truth [about Jones]."

Of course, things evened out this past week, when Donald Trump fired Jones. "When I said on the show yesterday that Star got fired, there were applauses in the audience," says DeGeneres. "People were thrilled that Star got fired."

To which Leakes replies: "Yeah, let's clap about it."

Credit: PEOPLE (Tim Nudd)

Friends Applaud NeNe For Quitting 'Apprentice'

With celebrities, respected journalists and interest groups lobbing the racist label at Donald Trump, friends of Nene Leakes tell Rob Shuter of Pop Eater that quitting Celebrity Apprentice in a shocking -- and low-rated -- episode on Sunday was a smart, principled move.

"Everything will ultimately work out for NeNe," a friend of the Real Housewives of Atlanta star tells him. "In the long run she was much better off to quit and walk away than get a job with Donald Trump."

It should be noted that each celebrity is playing to raise money for their charity rather than get a job within Trump's organization. It should also be noted that the Celebrity Apprentice you're seeing on Sundays was taped months ago, before The Donald's now-floundering bid for the White House and string of attacks on President Obama that many believe reek of racism.

CBS news anchor Bob Schieffer hit Donald recently after he raised doubts about President Obama's school grades. "That's just code for saying he got into law school because he's black," he said. "This is an ugly strain of racism that's running through this whole thing."

Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby, Robert De Niro, Rosie O'Donnell and David Letterman have also spoken out.

The political advocacy group Color of Change has called on all black cast members to boycott the show and one fired "applicant" told Shuter that they would shun the finale if their contract didn't stipulate they had to be there.

On Monday morning, Donald appeared on FOX News to try and dispel the charges he's racist.

"I am the least racist person there is," he said. "And I think most people who know me would tell you that. I am the least racist, I've had great relationships."

NeNe's fellow 'Housewife' (well, from NYC) Ramona Singer isn't buying it.

"Well, anyone who makes a racist remark is showing their opinion and where their mind is at," Ramona tells him.

Credit: Pop Eater (Rob Shuter)

Atlanta Housewives Attend Fundraiser

Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kim Zolciak and Atlanta Falcons player Kroy Biermann, who are expecting a child soon, attended a fundraiser at the Twelve Hotel at Atlantic Station. Also pictured, Sheree Whitfield.

Credit: Access Atlanta (Jennifer Britt)

NeNe Leakes: Why I Quit Celebrity Apprentice

Real Housewives of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes made a quick getaway on Sunday's Celebrity Apprentice, but she didn't get to hear Donald Trump utter his famous phrase "you're fired!" Instead, the reality star bolted on her own accord, reasoning that the drama with foe Star Jones had pushed her over the edge.

During Sunday's episode, where teams were tasked with producing and selling tickets to a comedy show, Leakes, 41, left her team -- John Rich, Lil Jon and La Toya Jackson (who switched places with Meat Loaf at the start of the episode) -- high and dry without an explanation. Later, when her teammates couldn't reach Leakes, Trump decided to dial her up himself.

"I've never called anybody but I'm calling you because I think you have great ability," Trump, 64, told Leakes in a last-ditch effort to keep her around. "If you quit, it's going to follow you for the rest of your life. For you to quit at the end is stupid."

In the wake of her monumental blowout fight with Jones (as seen on the May 2 episode), Leakes remained confident in her decision to leave the series.

"I really feel that Star got her way," Leakes said after her conversation with Trump. "Mr. Trump bought into her bulls--t. I don't have to stay with BS to raise money for my charity. The best thing for me to do is leave."

Leakes' swift exit stunned her castmates, namely Rich, 37.

"Star ran her off and that's so amateur," the country crooner said after they confirmed she was gone for good. "I cant say I have a healthy amount of respect for that. You can't just abandon your team. She didn't even say goodbye to us!"

When Rich, Jackson and Lil Jon met with the opposing team -- Jones, Meat Loaf and Marlee Matlin -- Trump was even more fired up about Leakes. The billionaire businessman launched into an epic tirade about potential, and how Leakes' exit cost last week's eliminated contestant Hope Dworaczyk a chance to compete.

"The fact is she left, she quit, she gave up. To you, NeNe, I say, you're fired. And you're a quitter. And Star Jones kicked your ass whether you like it or not. Potential doesn't mean sh--. I've been hearing about potential all my life, but that usually [is said of people who are] not performing. We let go of Hope and we ultimately lost NeNe. That's fine. That's the way life is."

Credit: Us Magazine

NeNe Leakes: "I'm Not Bullying Anybody"

After the altercations NeNe Leakes has gotten herself into both on Real Housewives of Atlanta, and now on Celebrity Apprentice, she's been pretty widely painted as a bully who uses her size to physically dominate her victims, but hey now, it's not NeNe's fault she's 5'10" and towers over everyone!

In a recent radio interview with The Russ Parr Morning Show, NeNe disagreed with the bully label, and disputed accusations that she was only chosen for Celebrity Apprentice to be branded the villain.

"I'm on the show because I am very popular and Mr. Donald Trump handpicked me himself," she insisted. While it may be easy to tab NeNe as the most outwardly aggressive of the women, she certainly doesn't have a reputation for being a villain. She has proven her business savvy on the show (she's now in the final 7), and is often praised by the Donald and her teammates.

"I'm not bullying anybody," she added. "I stand up for what I believe in, and I'm very honest, and I always tell the truth. I'm not a liar, I'm not manipulative, and I don't stab you in your back, because I will stab you in your chest."

Credit: Wet Paint (Mariella Mosthof)

Kim Zolciak Shares Intimate Pregnancy Photo

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak is due to give birth in just a few weeks and decided to share personal pregnancy photos of herself and boyfriend Kroy Biermann with Life & Style.

The reality star admitted she doesn't feel attractive at this stage of the pregnancy, but dad-to-be Biermann is taking good care of her.

"He thinks I'm sexy," Zolciak said of Biermann, who plays for the Atlanta Falcons. "He makes me feel beautiful."

"He's just been the best partner," she continued. "This pregnancy has kicked my butt, and now I'm at the stage where I'm uncomfortable."

And while Zolciak has let the Bravo cameras document many moments of her life, the Housewives star has nixed the idea of reality cameras in the delivery room.

"It's a very personal moment," she said. "I just want to share it with Kroy."

Credit: Pop Eater (Kelly Fisher)

Star Jones Compares NeNe To A Wild Animal

The last time the Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes sat down to talk with Ellen DeGeneres, she called fellow Celebrity Apprentice contestant Star Jones "a disaster." After Sunday night's vicious spat between the contestants, Jones appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show – and she didn't miss her chance to strike back.

"What were you thinking when NeNe was going off like that?" DeGeneres asks Jones in an episode airing Tuesday.

"I was thinking my grandmother is going to watch this," Jones says. "I was thinking I need to keep calm."

She also couldn't resist comparing her costar to a feral animal. "When you're confronted in the wild with an un-caged animal you're supposed to retreat," Jones says. "You're not supposed to attack."

"No," says DeGeneres, "with a bear you're supposed to appear bigger. You're supposed to get larger."

"If you can tell me how to get bigger than that, I got money for you," says Star.

Ellen also asked if a reconciliation loomed anywhere in the future for the two reality stars: "It looks like at the end of it you started making up, although you didn't want to do it on camera," she says. "How do you all get along now?"

"I don't know that girl and I don't hang with people like that."

Credit: PEOPLE (Sarah Durham Wilson)

Are NeNe & Kim Both Getting Spin-offs?

The women of Real Housewives of Atlanta are busy filming season 4, which so far has included a baby shower for Kim Zolciak. Meanwhile, the show's two biggest stars -- arch enemies NeNe Leakes and Zolciak -- are in talks to headline their own spin-off series on Bravo, sources tell The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Leakes' series would follow her as she moves to L.A. and tries to break into Hollywood; Zolciak's series would chronicle her life with NFL player Kroy Biermann and their new baby.

Of course, the network doesn't want them both to leave the mother show; they are the two most prominent personalities of the group, after all.

But keeping them both in the original show may be even more problematic. "The two no longer trust each other, much less like each other," writes The Atlanta Journal Constitution's radio and TV blogger Rodney Ho. "This dynamic must be creating challenges for Bravo producers shooting season four, since they want to maximize interaction among the six cast members while Kim and NeNe probably want to spend as little time face to face as possible."

Odds are that Leakes would be the one to make the break for good. Like Bethenny Frankel of The Real Housewives of New York, Leakes has parlayed her Houswives notoriety into other Hollywood gigs -- such as her current, high-profile stint on The Celebrity Apprentice -- and exploited the media exposure at every turn. That includes a big-time feud with Star Jones, which spilled over beyond the reality series when Leakes made the talk show rounds, complaining about Jones.

No doubt, some may say that The Real Housewives franchise has reached a saturation point, and there's no need for another spin-off. But producers can simply point out that The Real Housewives of Atlanta is the most popular one of all of them. Since it averages about 4 million viewers a week, largely on the draw of stars like Zolciak and Leakes, then maybe these women could carry their own shows. As far as TV execs are concerned, there's only one way to find out.

Credit: iVillage (Jennifer Graham Kizer)

NeNe Leakes, Taylor Armstrong In Beverly Hills

It was a "Housewife" dinner night. Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong were spotted at BOA Steakhouse last night holding hands.

Credit: The YBF (Natasha)

Kim & Kroy Looking For New Digs In Roswell

Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kim Zolciak and her new beau Kroy Biermann have been fishing for fancy new digs as they get ready to have a baby together.

They are currently in talks to lease a property in Roswell with seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, according to the real estate agent Rebecca Currie. Brielle, Kim’s daughter, Tweeted about the property earlier this month.

The 11,000 square feet home on two acres is currently for sale at an asking price of $3.25 million. The couple originally made a lower offer earlier this month, but it was rejected. Currie told me today she’d love for someone to buy the house, which is owned by a retired athlete. But a rental is better than keeping it empty.

The home has been for sale for nearly six months under its current owners. I did a little research and found the home is owned by former NBA player Antonio Davis and his wife Kendra and we featured it on our website last year. Davis played for the Pacers, Raptors and Bulls between 1993 and 2006.

Zolciak is due with her third child in June. She met Biermann, a Falcons defensive end, last spring at a charity event. They hooked up almost immediately, enabling Zolciak to dump Lee Najjar, best known as “Big Poppa.” Biermann’s livelihood is threatened by the current NFL lockout. If the season does happen, he is set to get paid $555,000.

Credit: Access Atlanta (Rodney Ho)

Is NeNe Leakes Hooking Up With Star's Ex?

Star magazine claims that Real Housewives of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes has been antagonizing Star Jones by spending quality time with Jones' ex-husband, Al Reynolds.

Although Reynolds has been haunted by gay rumors, the magazine says he's been getting quite cozy with his ex wife's nemesis.

[Reynolds and Leakes] dined at STK in NYC on March 9 and "looked very cozy," an eyewitness tells the publication. Afterwards, they danced the night away a Haven before hopping in the same cab at 4 a.m. And date No. 2 is already in the works.

RumorFix reached out to Al's rep to see if there were any truth to the rumors and were surprised when we got this answer: "Al and NeNe were recently introduced. He is enjoying getting to know her."

The rep wouldn't confirm that they're dating, but the two have been flirting on Twitter. Star Jones better watch out!

Credit: Rumor Fix

NeNe Leakes Says Star Jones “Is A Disaster”

NeNe Leakes of the Real Housewives of Atlanta and more recently, Celebrity Apprentice, will appear on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” today.

According to a transcript the show sent us, they’ll be discussing Leakes’ fellow Apprentice cast member Star Jones.

They’re not exactly best buddies.

“She is bossy, she is manipulative, conniving,” Leakes said of Jones. “She is controlling. I think that she knows. Yeah. She looks in the mirror, she better know.”

By the way here’s a comprehensive Celebrity Apprentice recap from our colleague Rodney Ho. If you’d like to see RoHo talking about the show click here for his video.

Jones has been vocal about Leakes as well, telling Daytime Confidential, “We’re not on the same level. Let’s make that clear. We’re on the same show.”

In case that was unclear she added, ”Cream rises to the top and water seeks its own level.”

Jones also noted, “They cast the show based on what they thought would generate good ratings. This was not a show about friendship.”

Apparently their relationship was strained from the beginning.

“When I walked into the situation, I tried to walk in with no preconceived notions,” Leakes told DeGeneres. “I was just thinking, ‘Okay, I’m going to do the show. I’m going to get to know who Star is.’ I think she had preconceived notions of who she thought I was just from watching me on the ‘Housewives.’ I think she thought I was going to come in and take over. I tried to get to know her. Some people are difficult to get to know. She’s not easiest person to get to know. She is a disaster.”

Could they work things out?

“I don’t think she’s easy to get along with,” Leakes said. “She’s a tough girl. We’re kind of okay. I’m trying to feel her out right now.”

Credit: The Buzz (Jennifer Brett)

NeNe Leakes: "I'm Not an Angry Woman"

Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes knows her larger than life personality can be polarizing. But according to the 43-year-old reality star, it's also served her well on Celebrity Apprentice.

"NeNe Leakes is fabulous, confident and she knows who the hell she is," the Bravo star tells the March 3 issue of Rolling Out. "NeNe Leakes is not an angry woman."

Leakes' critics -- and her pregnant Real Housewives costar Kim Zolciak, 32 -- may disagree.

"Some days I'm angry, and everybody is. I just happen to be on television and the camera captures me when I'm angry," Leakes counters. "Just imagine doing a reality show. What would they capture about you? They'd capture you on your period, pissed off, angry with your man, happy, going shopping. But they're only going to put in the things that are most interesting. I'm not an angry black woman; I'm actually a cool ass black woman."

The fiery reality star found a new foe in Star Jones on Celebrity Apprentice -- though Leakes is hesitant to share too many details from their on-camera scuffle.

"I had an experience with Star. I had never met her before. I believe that any woman who gets around Star will find that Star's not cool," Leakes says cryptically. "And when you watch Celebrity Apprentice, you will see some sides of her that are just not cool."

Unfortunately for Leakes, her spat with Jones, 48, was an indicator of further turmoil during her tenure on Celebrity Apprentice.

"It was a very hard show to do. We shot the show in literally 45 days," she griped. "The hours are bananas. You work six days a week, and you rise at 4 a.m. and you get in at midnight. The earliest was 10 p.m., but sometimes it was 1 a.m."

Though she's appeared on two different reality shows, Leakes insists she didn't set out to be a TV star.

"I work with a lot of people in the business who would much rather have fame over the money, and I'm a little bit different," she tells the mag. "Famous isn't anything that I'm trying to be. I'm just trying to work and have money."

Credit: Us Magazine

Andy Cohen: Miami Is the Last Stop on the Train

When Bravo launched the Real Housewives of Miami, it seemed like there was hope for a franchise in every city. However, Bravo’s Andy Cohen exclusively tells OK! that Miami is the last stop for the Housewives train. Last night, OK! talked to the host with the most as he helped celebrate MCC Theater’s 25th Anniversary in NYC. Andy sounded off on some of the most controversial housewives in seasons past and he even told OK! which franchise he would love to see Whitney Houston star in!

When asked about which city he would look to next to find more housewives, he told OK!, “I really feel like we’re done.” So is Miami the last stop on the Housewives train? Andy answered, “Yeah.”

But if any housewife thinks this is her chance to star in a spin-off series like Bethenny Frankel, she should think again. Andy explained of the other housewives, “I think they’re all good where they are.”

Even though he might think they should stay put in their hometowns, Andy had nothing but love for some of his favorite housewives. The king of Bravo used word association to describe the happy homemakers.

OK!: Camille Grammer

AC: Rich!

OK!: Teresa Giudice

AC: Strong!

OK!: Bethenny Frankel

AC: Hilarious!

OK!: Nene Leakes

AC: Bam!

Andy continued to gush about Miss Leakes, “She’s just in your face and fun!”

He then told OK! that he would also like to see Whitney Houston kick it with Nene and the gang on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. “I’d like to see her shake things up with those women.” Maybe she could team up with Kim Zolciak for “Tardy for the Party Part II”!

Credit: OK! Magazine (Evan Real)

Phaedra Parks Working On Book, Reality Shows

The Real Housewives of Atlanta's stand-out southern belle, Phaedra Parks tells Radar Online exclusively that she’s putting TV stardom aside for new next endeavor.

Atlanta’s power entertainment attorney is penning her first book and pitching three new reality shows.

“It’s about being a southern belle and all the accoutrements that go with it,” Pheadra tells Radar Online exclusively.

“It’s a modern day twist on etiquette and being a lady. And it’s alright for women to embrace their ladylike side.

“It’s high time that women start enjoying being ladies again. People have moved away from that.”

Phaedra, who’s never been shy about liking to dress over-the-top with her big hats and big makeup, wants to bring back traditions from days gone by like high tea, pretty frilly things, hats, gloves and “things that make you unique” – which she’ll highlight in the book, expected to hit shelves by the end of summer or early fall.

“I want to give my tips,” she says. “So many people over the years have asked me about how to have it all without losing yourself.”

Phaedra will also put on her producer’s hat to pitch three new “empowering” reality TV shows.

“I’m more into the uplifting programs.”

Phaedra hinted about what she hopes will make it to the small screen: “The first show is a docudrama and will take a group of women and empower them. The second show is more of a documentary that deals with serious issues of dating. And the third show is more fun and lighthearted focusing on alternative lifestyles.

“I’m all about girl-power.”

Credit: Radar Online

Miss Lawrence Washington Visits Us Magazine!

You can yack about "Tardy For The Party" all you want, but the undeniable real breakout star of the Real Housewives of Atlanta was not Kim Zolciak but Lawrence Washington. That's actually Miss Lawrence to you all now.

Yes, he started out on the series as Sheree Whitfield's flamboyant hairdresser, but it just took a little Pygmalion-esque tutelage from the show's resident R&B Rex Harrison, Kandi Burress, to transform him into this decade's answer to legendary disco devo Sylvester.

Aside from his debut hit from the show, "Closet Freak," a catchier gay anthem than Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" if you ask me, he's now moved on to a forthcoming LP, a slew of appearances and a regular slot on The Steve Harvey Show.

Burress defines his appeal to Us Magazine like this: "That boy can SANG! Besides that, I thought it was time for the world to again recognize talent without restrictions. There hasn't been an artist with such outrageous androgynous style since Boy George in the 80’s. I believe the time is right for Miss Lawrence."

We were lucky enough to lure Lawrence into our NYC office studio on February 25 to answer a few questions, belt out "Closet Freak" and the Donna Summer classic "Heaven Knows" a cappella - and impersonate the Housewives to a T.

Get in on the hot action above and visit misslawrence.com to keep up with the rising superstar.

Credit: Us Magazine

Kandi Burruss' Step Daughter Shot In The Head

Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kandi Burruss is going through yet another devastating situation with someone close to her.

This past Saturday night, Kandi's late ex-fiance's daughter, Asheley Jewell, was shot in the back of the head while she and her friends were riding in a car headed to pick up food. Asheley has two sisters, who are twins.

UPDATE: She is listed in critical condition as of 7:30AM, 3/9/11.

Credit: The YBF (Natasha)