Eboni K. Williams is speaking out about The Real Housewives of New York City reboot and revival.
The first Black lead in RHONY history talked about her Housewives fate on the debut episode of Carlos King's SiriusXM/Stitcher podcast, Reality With the King, revealing which of her castmates allegedly blocked her attempt to save the show's current lineup.
"I was always willing to negotiate with my former castmates about what an ensemble future could look like that included all of us," she shared. "They were unwilling to come to the table and meet me even halfway in that negotiation."
And by "they," Williams meant co-stars Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer and Leah McSweeney. She said only Sonja Morgan was "willing to come to the table and negotiate" a future with her in the cast.
Williams told King that season 14 could have been a mix of "old school [and] new school" had her former castmates 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."
The most recent season, season 13, wrapped in August 2021 and was the first season to end without a reunion episode. Then in November, executive producer Andy Cohen said the show was "on pause" during an episode of The Wendy Williams Show. Bravo announced the franchise's return in March 2022 with two different series—one featuring a brand-new cast and the other with fan-favorite stars—though no word of who will return has been announced.
With Williams' RHONY future up in the air, Cohen said he would love to see her return to the franchise, telling Variety, "We are interviewing multiple groups of friends. So certainly if Eboni is interested and has friends that would meet our casting goals, then of course they would be considered."
"There are thousands of stories to tell here. This is the most multicultural, diverse, and energetic and exciting city in America: We are searching for a multicultural group of friends who really best reflect the most exciting city in the country," he said about the show's makeover. "We're looking for a group of women who are real friends, and who are of diverse backgrounds, races and religions."
At the end of the day, Williams believes the franchise's new direction all comes down to the business of it all.
"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," she said. "So, I think that, more than anything, is actually the reason, Carlos, that we are now getting these two shows."
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)