The 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star's representative, however, denies the claims that NeNe is drunk and says that she looks disoriented due to a vitamin which the star takes on an empty stomach.
- Apr 25, 2019
AceShowbiz - NeNe Leakes' Saturday, April 20 show for her "Ladies Night Out Comedy Tour" took a disastrous turn. According to multiple sources, not only she came onstage 50 minutes late, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star greeted the sold-out crowd at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland while looking intoxicated.
Daily Mail reported that the organizers of the tour tried to pull the 51-year-old herself together before going onstage. Following an abnormally long introduction from friend and former "The Real Housewives of Potomac" star Charrisse Jackson Jordan, NeNe appeared at 8:52 P.M.
Stumbling, NeNe allegedly shouted into the mic, "Hey DMV [DC, Maryland, Virginia]. Get on you motherf***in' feet everybody."
As the show must go on, NeNe tried to go into her comedy material. However, her delivery was allegedly off. "Everyone wants to know when did NeNe Leakes become a comic. Is she a comedian?" she said while talking slow and pacing back and forth on the stage. "No b***h, I'm not a comedian. I'm a motherf***in' hustler!"
The joke earned a big laugh from the audience but that was the only laughed she got that evening. Sources also said that she failed to mention some of comedienne Janelle James' credits before the latter delivered her set and even introduced her as "Jes James." It seemed like the Bravo personality confused her with Jes Hilarious, who has appeared on some dates of the tour.
"Thank you all of the applause because you don't know me. And apparently, neither does NeNe Leakes because my name is Janelle James, not Jes James," Janelle said, making the crowd laugh.
The crowd reportedly begun talking about how "unprofessional" it was for NeNe to appear drunk. "This b***h ain't drunk, she's f***ed up!" one attendee said. "Somebody better get her off the stage." Eventually, "The Real" co-host Loni Love took over the hosting duties for the remainder of the night after she performed her 25-minute set.
As for how the backstage's situation was that night, a source claimed it was a "mess." The source continued, "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," someone involved with the tour added. It was also said that NeNe was an emotional wreck as "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."
A rep for the star revealed that the decision to delay the start of the show was made by the venue, not by NeNe. "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 8 P.M. 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," the rep explained.
While the rep admitted that NeNe misidentifying Janelle James was "an honest mistake," the rep assured that "there was no negative feelings between Janelle and NeNe."
As to why she looked disoriented, the rep blamed it on a vitamin which the star took on an empty stomach. "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," the statement went on reading.
"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?' " the statement added.
