NeNe Leakes is in talks with Andy Cohen, Bravo and NBCUniversal to potentially settle the discrimination lawsuit she filed against them outside of court, Page Six has learned.
An Atlanta judge granted the parties a 45-day extension on Wednesday until Aug. 19 after the defendants requested more time to “negotiate” the dispute, according to court documents.
In a motion filed on June 24, Cohen, 54, Bravo and NBCU argued that per contract agreements existing between them and Leakes, 54, the ongoing disputes are “already subject to arbitration in New York.”
According to legal experts, arbitration is a process in which two parties in a dispute use an independent, impartial third party to settle.
The motion also noted, however, that Leakes “disagrees” with the notion of arbitration, but that both parties are “in the process of negotiating this issue in an attempt to avoid the time and expense of a motion to compel arbitration” through their respective counsel.
Since both sides “agreed” that a 45-day extension is “appropriate to complete these
discussions,” the judge granted the deadline extension.
The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum, who is black, filed the lawsuit in April over claims that she suffered years of racist remarks from former co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, who is white.
The reality star alleged that only she dealt with consequences from the network and their respective production companies because they “foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged,” according to the lawsuit.
Following the filing, Leakes has maintained that she has been “blacklisted” from booking other jobs in the entertainment space as a result of her speaking out.
“I was constantly being retaliated against, being blacklisted, not able to work, being silenced, and so, you know, it was difficult to do,” the former “Fashion Police” host told TMZ in May.
In September 2021, Leakes announced she was leaving “RHOA” after 12 seasons.
She said at the time, “There’s been a lot of emotion flying from both sides. It has been hard, and I have made the very hard and very difficult decision to not be a part of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ Season 13. It wasn’t an easy decision for me. It was hard.”