Eboni K. Williams has weighed in on the future of the legendary “Real Housewives of New York” series.
During an appearance on the “Reality with the King” podcast, the 38-year-old theorized about why the show is now being split into two different series with separate casts.
“I feel I was more than willing the whole season and after we aired and after we wrapped and after the decision to not have a reunion, I was always willing to negotiate with my former castmates about what an ensemble future could look like that included all of us, always right up until the very end,” Eboni revealed to show host Carlos King. “They were unwilling, is all I can tell you. They were unwilling to come to the table and meet me even halfway in that negotiation.”
Williams continued, “And if you know anything about business, you know anything about the art of the deal, you can’t close that way. You can’t close when parties involved in the negotiation are unwilling to give, even an inch. So I think that more than anything is actually the reason, Carlos, that we are now getting these two shows.”
The “Beyond the Edge” reiterated that her theories about the show split are a matter of her own opinion, but admitted that she believed the series would have proceeded as planned if the group had to come to an agreement.
“If those same former castmates of mine had been willing to enter into the negotiation of coexisting and sharing space with myself and additional women outside of their particular New York world and bubble, you would have had a season 14 that was what everybody anticipated,” she said. “A proper integration of old school, new school.”
Eboni joined the RHONY cast for the 13th season, where she clashed with Ramona Singer on various occasions. Contrary to the show’s original format, the cast didn’t film a reunion special after the season’s finale due to what was cited as “scheduling challenges.”
Back in November 2021, Andy Cohen, host of “Watch What Happens Live” and Real Housewives franchise producer, told Entertainment Tonight that the series was in “pause” and “repair” mode.
The 53-year-old producer admitted that “this last season of ‘New York’ was a season that wasn’t people’s favorite” and told Variety last month that Bravo was intending to reboot and recast the series.
“You know that we’re at a crossroads for ‘RHONY’,” Cohen said. “We’ve spent a lot of time figuring out where to go. And the plan that we’ve come up with, I think, is a real gift to the fans.”
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