NeNe Leakes has not had a great week.
A few days ago, the reality star stepped into some scalding hot water after she responded to a heckler at a stand-up show by telling her she hopes she gets raped by her Uber drive.
Yeah: YIKES!
After receiving some well-deserved backlash for this remark, Leakes was fired from The Great Xscape Tour and sources have said she may also be let go from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
NeNe proceeded to issue a heartfelt apology, saying on Instagram:
“I truly regret and apologize for what I said from the stage in Oakland over the weekend…
“As a woman and someone who has survived abuse, I regret the words that I used.”
Pretty straightforward and, really, all NeNe could say given the circumstances, right?
But with the criticism increasing and her career in jeopardy, Leakes then recoded a video in which she bawled her eyes out and REALLY apologized.
“I never want to cause harm to anybody else, not in that kind of way,” she said this time around, adding:
“Everybody who know me knows that I never would want that to happen.”
So… days later, how is Leakes feeling about everything right now?
Pretty good, but it got ugly there for a bit.
“A lot of people know me as NeNe who’s laughing and talking, a lot of don’t know me as NeNe who would break down,” Leakes said on Instagram last night, expounding as follows:
“I actually had a real breakdown.”
Don’t panic, however, fans.
NeNe says she’s in a much better place now.
“Trust and believe, I’m so okay, I’m in a great place today,” she said.
“I can’t say I haven’t been in a great place these last few days. I’m so okay with everything, I just haven’t talked a lot or spoken out a lot.”
The Bravo star was scheduled to host a November concert featuring girl group Xscape (including her Real Housewives of Atlanta costar Kandi Burruss).
However, the group announced yesterday that they were “dismayed” by the remark Leakes made.
“Yesterday I got a little bit emotional. I have never said anything that the heckler said to me. All the girls on the tour with me know what happened,” Leakes continued on Instagram.
She concluded optimistically, stating:
“I plan on not letting anyone take my joy. I created my own show because I wanted to get out and express some of the things that I have inside of me.
“I don’t consider myself a comedian, I always say that. I’ve said that since the day I first started. I just consider myself a s–t talker, a funny lady. I never imagined ever, ever, ever stepping on stage and somebody screaming out ‘Go kill yourself’ to me.
“It literally took me somewhere else, I apologize. I’ve let that go.”
So… NeNe is mostly sorry, yet also wants everyone to know that the heckler told her to commit suicide.
We can understand how that could be traumatizing.
We can’t understand ever making a rape joke, though.
And we definitely can’t understand hiring NeNe Leakes to do a stand-up act.
