‘RHONY’: Eboni K. Williams Reveals Why Leah McSweeney Distanced Herself From Her
When The Real Housewives of New York debuted their first-ever Black Housewife on the show, there was some controvery. But Eboni K. Williams, former FOX News correspondent and attorney, refused to be silenced. She filed a complaint, leading into an investigation of a hostile and racist work environment. As a result, she says her co-star and friend, Leah McSweeney, distanced herself from her to remain in good standing with the rest of the cast.
Eboni K. Williams says Leah McSweeney distanced herself to save her job
Williams was introduced to fans as a friend of McSweeney. According to Williams in an interview with Shadow and Act, she bonded with McSweeney over their shared desires of love, their close age range, and Williams wanting to become a mother. But after Williams launched an investigation with the network over claims that she was working in a hostile work environment filled with racial insensitivity, she says her relationship with McSweeney changed.
“When I became kind of a hot button item, you either were a huge fan or really really unhappy with me being on the show,” Williams explained in an interview with Access Hollywood. “I get it. Leah’s a single mom, and this was like, more money than she’d ever seen in her life, and just more opportunity and it is an incredible platform, and she said, ‘I wanna cut my losses, and I’m going to align myself with what [I] believe [is my] best chance of continuing on the platform.’”
McSweeney hasn’t spoken on Williams’ claims. She was asked to be part of the RHONY Legacy cast, while Williams was not. She also told Shadow and Act of their fallout: “I can just tell you that we found ourselves as a place, as grown women where there were some deeply personal values of mine that are not in full alignment with her values and on these particular issues as it relates to the show.”
The ‘RHONY’ alum says only Sonja Morgan maintained contact with her amid the drama
Despite her friendship with McSweeney falling apart, Williams says Morgan has been an ally to her. “Sonja stayed Sonja, and Sonja said, ‘It’s time for us to fall back a bit, make a little space for a new era of New York boss b-tches.’ And that’s why it really should’ve went on with me and Sonja and some others,” she said.
Williams previously said that Morgan was the only co-star not to axe her out of the group when things became tense. She says she was blackballed by the rest of the cast, and they refused to talk to her.
“If you want to call it blackballed, then yes, I’m not going to dispute the semantics of that, what I am telling you plainly is only Sonja Morgan was willing to come to the table and negotiate a future that involved me as a part of this ensemble,” she told Carlos King during an episode of the Reality with The King podcast.
Morgan is currently filming a spinoff series with former co-star, Luann de Lesseps. Williams says she remains friends with Morgan.
