Kandi Burruss is looking forward to all the blessings in her life, and that seems to include her exit from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
The reality TV star and songwriter gently launched her career turn on Sunday while walking the red carpet at the 66th Grammy Awards. She is officially closing the door on her Bravo home, announcing her departure from the show after 14 seasons. The move came as a shock to fans of the franchise and apparently to Bravo head Andy Cohen.
“I'm really not up to speed right now,” Burruss told Variety editor Marc Malkin. “I'm not up to date. I already said it, so I'll tell you. I decided I won't be back this year.
“It's been 14 seasons and we've been allowed to sit around for too long, but during that time I've started working on a lot of other things and I have some big interesting projects coming up soon, so I'm very excited.” about those things,” the Grammy-winning songwriter added.
Burruss, 47, had been a mainstay of “RHOA” since her Season 2 debut in 2009, chronicling the tragic highs and lows of her personal and professional life. But as the series goes through her own difficult transition, she will move away from it, at least for the moment.
The R&B songwriter and Xscape singer explained that she stayed on the show for so long because “it feels weird to think about not doing it.” So she, she said she, she decided to take a break and not come back for the next season.
Bravo's Georgia-set edition of its popular franchise concluded its 15th season in September and has indicated it would change the cast, leading many to believe it would reboot the show like it did with “Real Housewives of New York” last year. . . But the network is reportedly close to announcing the new cast of “Atlanta” with some familiar faces set to return.
Representatives for Bravo declined to comment Monday when contacted by The Times.
Cohen, who is an executive producer of “Housewives” and hosts the Bravo late-night show “Watch What Happens Live” and many Bravo reunions, gave a glowing review of Burruss’ “incredible career” with the network.
“You think about everything that she not only went through on the show but brought to the show,” Cohen said Monday on his SiriusXM show, “Andy Cohen Live.”
“When she came in, she was with [ex-fiancé] A.J. [Jewell]. He, between filming our first season and filming the reunion, was murdered. She lost it. Mama Joyce disapproved of AJ in her first season. This was season 2 of 'Atlanta'. It was Kandi's first season. She also, in those early seasons, did the music and wrote 'Tardy for the Party,' which has become, you know, canon. I mean, it's just iconic right now. She fell in love with Todd. [Tucker]. …She brought us Mama Joyce. She brought us Bolo, she brought us the dungeon, the Kandi bedroom, Don Juan, the Old Lady Gang. I mean, it goes on and on.
“She was always very true to herself. She wanted to be the best. She has been one of my favorite people to work with in my entire time. First, as an executive at Bravo, and then as EP of 'The Housewives' and just, you know, hosting 'Watch What Happens Live,'” she continued.
“I love how competitive she is. I love how thoughtful and intelligent she is. She is so strategic. …She always brought her authenticity to everything she did and I'm excited too because she just came on the show with her own name and her career, obviously. I mean, she has something huge.”
Burruss joined the show not as a titular “Housewife” but as someone who had already established her own claim to fame as a recording artist and award-winning songwriter, with songs including Destiny's Child's “Bills, Bills, Bills” and the TLC's Grammy winner. “There are no medical uniforms.” She also worked with greats such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Pink and Ariana Grande and starred in and produced several Broadway productions. Since then, she has appeared on several Bravo spinoff series and competed as Night Angel on Fox's “The Masked Singer.”
Cohen also cited a 2020 letter Burruss wrote to Bravo executives during the network's racial reckoning that summer. She said she made “really valid and true thoughts” about how the network “could do business differently” and how it could be “more inclusive, more positive, more meaningful.” That led to “a big conversation between her and the network.” Bravo ultimately used that as a jumping-off point for action elements, and Cohen described her as a true partner.
“It's someone who says, 'We're in this together.' We have a long history. This is what I'm seeing happening. That's how I could be better,' so I just, if he didn't respect her and love her before that, I did it after that,” Cohen said. “I thought, 'Wow, this is cool.' “This is very shocking.” She impacted not only the show, but she impacted the way we do business behind the scenes and that's powerful, so I think we were both crying a little at the end of the call the other day. “
Cohen also said that Burruss and the network will be working together for a long time and that she still has “other things in development, so she's a talent they won't want to let go.”
“She is one of the greats. She is one of the greats and I want everyone to know it, so thank you Kandi for your service. I told her and I said, 'You know, Kandi, you could come back in a year or two,'” she added.
Burruss was apparently listening and took to Instagram to thank Cohen for his kind words.
“Thank you @bravoandy! I love you! ❤️ 😘,” he wrote on Monday, reposting a portion of Cohen's clip.
