Eboni K. Williams made history as the first Black Housewife on Real Housewives of New York. Finally! Eboni is a television host, and an attorney.
Her bestie is RHONY co-star Leah McSweeney. Leah had been struggling with the impending death of her beloved grandmother, and Eboni had her back. Eboni handled all of her co-stars’ diva behavior with grace.
Eboni spoke with theJasmineBRAND about her concerns about joining the show. “I was [apprehensive], but I also felt like ‘y’all know who I am’… The network knew who I was, and there [were] plenty of folks–brilliant, beautiful, dope Black women–who don’t necessarily do, eat, live, and breathe this work of Black liberation the way I do,” Eboni stated.
And she wasn’t going to ignore discussing race even if it made her RHONY co-stars uneasy. “Frankly, I was not going to tiptoe around these women when it came to any of it,” the attorney said. “I’m not playing with y’all… Their comfort is just not my concern.”
A pivotal moment this season occurred when Luann de Lesseps called Eboni “angry.” Luann commented that using vulgar language sounded “uneducated.” When Eboni disagreed and pointed out that she was the most educated person there, Luann had an embarassing melt-down and asked her to leave. Such a classy move, Luann.
RELATED: Heather Thomson Thinks Eboni K. Williams Is A “Race Baiter;” Slams Eboni For “Fake Narrative”
“I was left with no other conclusion that there’s a correlation between me as a Black woman and you describing me as angry,” Eboni told theJasmineBRAND. “And I have to look no further than the discrepancy of you calling me angry [while] Leah cussed you out, called y’all hoes, and ran the h*ll out of [t]here. Ramona [Singer] two seconds [prior to me saying] anything, standing up, beating on the table [saying] ‘I don’t like this!’ [But] nobody’s angry,” Eboni remarked. ” And I’m ‘angry,’ so we know it’s about that.” Eboni went on a social media hiatus after all the drama with Luann.
Eboni also commented on the perception that she brings up the topic of race too much. She stated, “Not my problem! And this is what I mean by it: this is my work. This is my life’s work!” She isn’t sure if she will be part of RHONY next season. “But as long as I hold the apple, I’m going to use the platform according to my discretion,” Eboni explained. “And my discretion is that they were allowed to have an all-white, pretty ridiculous f***ing show for 12 years, that I enjoyed, too!”
RELATED: Eboni K. Williams Says Watching Herself On Real Housewives Is “More Emotional” Than Getting Death Threats During Her Time At Fox News
The newbie Housewife added, “But the microaggressions and some of the more traumatic elements of the Black experience are only being brought up because my castmates are stepping in it.” And one of those cast mates would be “Mama” Heather Thomson. Eboni accused Heather of “trying to whitesplain” to her. In screenshots shared by Queens of Bravo, Heather agreed that Eboni was a “race baiter.”
Eboni phoned Heather. “We had a tense, hour-long conversation… Basically, what she was really mad about was I had done press, I had done Watch What Happens Live, and… in my confessionals on the episode, I said Heather actually did more harm than good in the way she was, to me, whitesplaining my feelings to these women… I found it problematic,” Eboni explained to theJasmineBRAND.
RELATED: Eboni K. Williams Slams Heather Thomson For “Trying To Whitesplain” Following Argument With Luann de Lesseps
TELL US- DO YOU THINK THAT EBONI IS DOING A GOOD JOB DEALING WITH RACIAL ISSUES ON RHONY? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HER COME BACK NEXT SEASON?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]