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NeNe Leakes has been receiving backlash for her "unprofessional" hosting gig during the Ladies Night Out Comedy Tour. People were under the impression that she was drunk, however, she claims that was not the case. Get it all inside...
What's going on with NeNe Leakes?
Over the weekend, the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star was the host of the Ladies Night Out comedy tour in Maryland. However, fans were not impressed with her performance.
Folks claim NeNe was “embarrassingly drunk," was "barely able to walk and was slurring when she spoke." They said she appeared to be quite disoriented during her set. Not only that, she was reportedly an hour late to the show at The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD.
“Hey DMV [DC, Maryland, Virginia]. Get on you motherf***ing feet everybody,” NeNe yelled into her microphone, according to the Daily Mail.
According to NeNe's reps, it was the venue's decision to start the show late, but show organizers claim they had to delay the show because they were trying to help the 51-year-old reality star get herself together.
When NeNe went to announce the first comedian - Janelle James - to the stage, she reportedly called her the WRONG name.
"Give it up for Jes James," NeNe said to the audience.
“Thank you all of the applause because you don’t know me," Janelle said when she stepped out on stage. "And apparently, neither does NeNe Leakes because my name is Janelle James, not Jes James."
Oop! After Janelle's set, the audience grew irritated with NeNe.
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It's reported "The Real" co-host/comedienne Loni Love had to take over for NeNe and introduced the night’s headliner, Adele Givens. As the show came to end, it's reported Loni Love brought NeNe back out during the curtain call, but she never took a microphone to address the crowd again.
The Daily Mail reports:
"It was a mess backstage. NeNe had this enormous entourage and everyone was scrambling trying to get her together each time she was supposed to go on stage. She was embarrassingly drunk, barely able to walk and was slurring when she spoke. Not how any professional should show up to host a show,' said someone involved with the tour.
One person backstage when the drama was unfolding tells Daily Mail that Leakes was also an emotional wreck, having outbursts and crying. 'She kept saying, 'somebody put something in my drink bitch. I only had two drinks; I ain't supposed to be this drunk.' Her husband Gregg kept trying to calm her down.' the source disclosed.
Whew, chile.
NeNe's reps have released a statement, claiming NONE of these accusations are true.
"The decision to begin the show late was made by the VENUE. Not by Nene Leakes. Nene was backstage with the other comedians watching video footage of the audience filing into their seats which was still occurring approximately 10 minutes prior to their scheduled start time of 8PM. She waited backstage until she was notified by someone at the venue that it was time for her to take the stage to start the show, which she then did promptly."
"Nene takes her professional commitments very seriously. She was not intoxicated, and therefore she did not stumble nor was she disoriented. She started the show by welcoming the audience as she does in every city, which was met by applause and positive fan response as usual. Any comment made about her material or comedic timing is someone’s personal opinion."
Per the statement, NeNe did misidentify Janelle James, but they say it was an honest mistake. The statement confirmed there is no bad blood between them. The statement also said Loni Love never took over hosting duties for NeNe.
"Loni Love never took over Nene’s hosting duties. This is absolutely incorrect. At the end of every show, Loni concludes her set by introducing Nene and bringing her back to the stage to “thank” her for being their host for the evening. Every time Nene was expected to take to the stage as host, she did so.'
So, why was NeNe seemingly disoriented and slurring her words? Her reps claim she took a vitamin on an empty stomach, causing her to get sick.
"Prior to the show, Nene had taken a vitamin on an empty stomach. Neither she nor Gregg had eaten all day, and when she arrived at the venue she had a cocktail backstage. She then got immediately sick."
"As Nene takes every professional commitment seriously, Nene assured everyone backstage that she was OK and would still do the show as planned despite feeling incredibly sick and unsure of what the cause was. Immediately after the show, Nene did confide in Gregg and those backstage “Why would I be sick like this. I only had ONE drink. Who made this for me, did someone put something in my drink?”
"Gregg was also sick, from not eating all day and having to take medication on an empty stomach, which is when they realized this was the cause. Nene had not taken the vitamin with food as advised, mixed with having only one cocktail prior to the show. Any emotion to these statements were because of frustration and confusion by Nene as to why she was feeling so sick when she barely drank; evidence from her asking if there might have been someone who spiked her drink."
Hmm...
The Ladies Night Out Comedy Tour is set to make stops in Los Angeles and Brooklyn soon. Hopefully, NeNe can redeem herself.
Photo: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com/Loni's IG
