In the very first episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta Shereé called NeNe to invite her to her birthday party even though they were fighting and had recently had a “big blow up.” What NeNe didn’t know when she agreed to go was that Shereé never intended to let NeNe into the party. Shereé informed security that they couldn’t allow anyone in the party who wasn’t on the list, and NeNe’s name wasn’t on the list.
During the episode, Shereé tells her publicistm “I want the right people on the list . . . I don’t want any riff-raff.” Tiffany lets Shereé know that she understands and that no one who doesn’t need to be there will be there. She makes a point to say she won’t show Shereé the final list, which lets Shereé off the hook about NeNe not being allowed in.
From the way everything played out it was easy to suspect that this was a setup, but recently producer Carlos King confirmed again that Shereé had purposely not put NeNe on the list. She didn’t tell production that she was going to do this. Carlos considers Shereé to be “an uncredited producer” of the show because she knew what to do to ignite drama and conflict. Shereé later told Carlos on his podcast that she had done this on purpose.
“I knew that night this show was going to be a phenomenon,” Carlos said on Juicy Scoop™ w Heather McDonald. “Because I have never seen anyone get played that deliciously.”
Shereé’s machinations made for a very good soapy plot line about interpersonal relationships that cemented RHOA as an iconic show. To add further to RHOA’s potential, Kim Zolciak changed outfits at a gas station on the way to Shereé’s party. She was meeting her personal clothing designer there, and she changed clothes in the parking lot. It was an off-the-wall scenario that led to great TV.
