Tom Arnold claims Wendy Williams had his talk show with NeNe Leakes axed over PURSE FEUD
Tom Arnold claims that he and NeNe Leakes were hired by the creators of 'The Wendy Williams Show' to co-host their own daytime talk show. However, the deal fell through due to a purse feud between Wendy Williams and Nene Leakes.
The 63-year-old former 'Roseanne' star claims that after a few appearances on Williams' show, he "connected" with the producers and was given the idea. He told PageSix, "The reason they approached me is because they'd seen me go on 'Wendy,' and I had a great time. The goal was to have [our show] go on right after 'The Wendy Willams Show.' And I said, 'Oh, that sounds great! Let’s get together.' And then we did."
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The 'Wendy' show was "killing it" at the time, and the producers were "jazzed" about the proposal, according to Arnold, who claimed they "felt it would be a home run." Arnold said, "I thought, 'With somebody like NeNe Leakes, how do you go wrong there?' And then I figured out how you go wrong – make fun of somebody's purse."
Arnold claimed that the "purse-gate" occurred in 2014 after the 54-year-old 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star displayed her hand-painted Hermès Birkin bag decorated with "NeNe-isms" made popular on the Bravo program, including 'So nasty and so rude,' 'Bloop,' and 'Close your legs to married men.'
Williams became interested in the handbag and tweeted, "Hot Question: What do think about @NeNeLeakes defacing her Birkin bag?". A short while later, the 57-year-old former radio personality removed the tweet, but not before Leakes learned about the dubious "Hot Topics" segment. Arnold believes that she responded with a disparaging blog article, which cost them their show.
We gotta talk about the Nene Leakes’ Birkin that has all of her iconic quotes on it #RHOA pic.twitter.com/ZZXQ3QH676
— Greg Tackett (@gmtackett) September 12, 2021
In a fit of fury, Leakes wrote at the time, "Wendy I am sure people think that I've done something to you, maybe we had a beef or I slept with your man but none of that is true! I've actually only been nice to you! I gave you a beautiful black $3,200 Celine Phantom Bag to celebrate your 500th show but you haven't spoken of that! But what you have chosen to do is constantly speak negative of me and lie on me! What you need to do is stop spewing hate! When it comes to gossip you are the lowest of the low!"
Leakes added, "I know you hate because I turned down the chance to come on your Talk Show and I am sure you're scared I will take your place (I know you have heard! Ummhmm wink wink) BE SCARED! I have a clothing line on HSN coming out in a few days and I know it must be hard for a black woman to support another black woman but you should try it sometime."
Leakes also mentioned that the bag was covered in paint in order to "raise money for a worthy charity," something she felt Williams should have mentioned to the audience. She wrote, "I don’t have one Birkin I have five now run tell that WIG."
Arnold revealed that after having "great meetings" with one of the producers, he soon received a call from them. "She called me and said, 'I got some bad news. We can't do the show.' And I said, 'Why?' And she said, 'Because NeNe made fun of Wendy Williams' purse.' And I go, 'Who would care about somebody making fun of their purse?' And the producer said, 'Black women care' She explained to me it was a very personal thing," he recounted.
The circumstance, which the actor acknowledged was "an eye-opener," was one he hoped to explore in the first episode of their program. Leakes, though, seemed "unrepentant." He explained, "You know, the thing about NeNe that they liked about her was that she's outspoken, like Wendy Williams," and he said he would "absolutely" try out for the role again. "[NeNe] is fun and she’s smart and she has a lot to say. I don’t know how you could do better with a co-host," he added.
Arnold speculated that Williams may have "felt competitive with NeNe, too, which is fine, because everybody’s competitive. But I guess the best way to get rid of your competition is to fire them." In the podcast 'Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef,' Arnold first discussed the talk show on Wednesday. He said, "Wendy Williams was very powerful in that company, and Wendy Williams was like, 'If they are coming, I am leaving. I am leaving if they are coming.'"
Leakes told Page Six that once she responded to Williams' comments, the production company, Debmar-Mercury, "pulled the deal and stopped all communication," confirming that "there is truth" to Arnold's account. She said, "Our deal went dead."