‘RHOA’: Drew Sidora Confronted Kenya Moore About Involving Her Son on Social Media: ‘It Was Below the Belt’
Bravo’s expansive Real Housewives roster lives and dies by the interpersonal conflicts between its most outspoken stars. Not a season goes by without one of the housewives causing a stir with another, be it over something they said or their actions behind the scenes. However, a recent conversation about parenting on Real Housewives of Atlanta sparked a severe conversation over when these disputes go way too far.
When ‘Real Housewives’ get too real
Reunion specials are fan favorites among the loyal Housewives fans. After all, while plenty of drama plays out in front of each other, this is where stars often get the chance to confront each other over what was said behind closed doors. Talking head interviews are the heart and soul of the genre, and with the rise of social media, it’s given yet another platform for castmates to sound off. However, sometimes this reality television drama goes too far, and fights about personal grievances get more emotional when family issues play out in public. This was the setup for a recent argument between Ralph and Drew Sidra and their co-star, Kenya Moore.
Life behind the show
No child deserves to live without a parent, and Sidora wants to ensure that her nine-year-old child, Josiah, can have a relationship with his father. When Josiah asked his mother about his birth father, her current husband, Ralph Pittman, didn’t fight the notion. Instead, he encouraged Sidora to let go of any internalization she felt for her ex and wanted what was best for her son. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted the way that she and other castmates spoke about it on a reunion special.
“Ralph has been instrumental in bridging that gap,” Drew said about their shared dynamic and the importance of normalizing upbringings such as his, “I have a lot of single mothers that are my friends — a lot of friends that come to us and we talk about, ‘How are you going to deal with the biological dad, the baby daddy, situation?’ So I felt like it could be inspiring.”
Kandi Burruss was inspired by this dynamic. She spoke about how important it was for some to see this type of family dynamic in a country filled with children like Josiah that do not know their biological fathers. “I loved how you guys were open to share because I do think it helps a lot of families. Obviously, for my child, she’s allowed a wall to build up, but you guys are catching it early, so I definitely was a little teary-eyed when I was seeing their situation”, she said to her co-stars. Not everyone was on board, however.
Kenya Moore draws the other ‘Housewives’ ire
Never shy to sound off on her co-stars and their families, Kenya Moore believes that the dynamic is awkward. All About the Tea summarized the drama in a piece about the fallout. After retweeting a judgmental take on Drew’s familial dynamic, Moore spoke about her concerns, citing the public way they went about it as she dissected the entire situation. “It was made me uncomfortable if I’m going, to be honest. I thought it was a family thing that maybe could’ve been more in private,” she said of Drew’s rebuttal. “I don’t feel like you were protecting your child in that moment.”
Drew felt like Moore’s comments went beyond the canned drama that the show entails and fed her struggles as a mother with a child who wants to know his father. “It was really irresponsible for you to retweet that … It was below the belt. I was shaking, and I cried … You are nasty,” she emotionally told Moore at the reunion. This caused Burruss to come to her defense, saying, “I would prefer that we not put on social media negative things about each other’s kids.”
Reality television is easily written off as schlock because it often is. However, deep behind the scripted situations and crowd-pleasing dramas are real lives that play out on camera. Sometimes they are edited in funny ways, but as Ralph and Drew’s situation shows, sometimes the real drama can be an empowering moment that goes above and beyond the standard fare and shows similar struggles to the ones that everyone faces.
