Andy Cohen is making it clear that NeNe Leakes still holds an important place in Real Housewives history.
Leakes recently appeared in the premiere of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th, marking a return to the franchise years after her departure from The Real Housewives of Atlanta and a later legal dispute involving Bravo and Cohen.
Andy praised NeNe Leakes after her return to the Real Housewives franchise
Cohen reflected on Leakes’ involvement while attending the RHUGT premiere celebration in New York City.
“We couldn’t have celebrated 20 years without her,” Cohen told PEOPLE. “She’s such an important part of the franchise, and it was really fun.”
He also said viewers had responded well to her appearance.
“And the response has been great,” Cohen added.
Leakes left RHOA in 2020 after appearing across 10 seasons. Two years later, she filed a lawsuit against Bravo, the show, Cohen and other parties, alleging racism and a hostile work environment. All parties mutually dismissed the lawsuit four months later.
Cohen addressed that history earlier this year and said he viewed the dispute as “in the past.” He also described working with Leakes again as “a very positive” experience.
“As we looked back on 20 years, it felt like doing something with her would be really nice for the fans, and she really wanted to do it,” Cohen said.
Leakes has also indicated that she would listen if the franchise approached her about a larger comeback. During a January appearance on The Tamron Hall Show, she said, “If they called, I would answer.”
She added, “I would need to hear what they have to say.”
Leakes also suggested that previous issues between the two sides no longer stood in the way.
“We have put a lot of things behind us that some people know, some people don’t know,” she said. “We’ve ended all of those things. We’ve moved forward.”
For now, her return remains limited to Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th. The special season follows Vicki Gunvalson, Luann de Lesseps, Porsha Williams, Teresa Giudice, Kyle Richards, Gizelle Bryant and Lisa Barlow as they travel through several cities tied to the franchise.
