INTERVIEW: Kenya Moore Speaks On Acting, Finalizing Her Divorce, RHOA Ratings + More

Wake that ass up in the morning. Breakfast Club Morning.

Everybody is the dj n V Charlamagne de goud We are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the building.

Thank you.

Yeah, how are you feeling this morning?

I feel good?

You look good, look good. No sleep but you know, yes, four am, my daughter's here.

Okay.

So she helicopters in the bed, you know, turns around, turns, she twirls in the bed. She's five. She just turned five. Yeah, she just turned five. So yes, we had like a.

Wonderful birthday party for her. She was a princess Disney princesses.

And to expect nothing other than that.

Change, you know, custom everything.

And I know you when you start, when you talk about being tired, you put your head down, like.

Well, you're here for the Carlicia Gather's story. Yes, yeah, for people that don't know, break down who she is. She was a young lady abducted and yes, she was smart enough to leave clues, so break it down and police were able to find an abduct them.

I mean, you just told the story.

No, So it's the Carlicia Gather story. Abducted off the street. It's a lifetime movie. It's gonna be premiering on Saturday.

We're so excited. I'm so excited. But it was a young lady.

It was like all in the news. She's from Philadelphia. She was a nurse's assistant. She was twenty two, and she was walking home after a family gathering and there was this you know, crazy guy, psycho killer rapist who basically snatchers. You know, you tell your kids, you know, you better be careful with somebody can snatch her ass, and that's exactly what happened.

He forced her into the car, but she was smart enough that she started leaving little clues, like.

Making him like go to the ATM machine and use her her ATM car to you know. So of course there's a trail on that she dropped certain things that they would get out of the store, like.

Her her cut, her handcuffs and things like that.

So she was just like really really cognizant of I need you guys to find me, and this is how you can. So she was just leaving clues and she ended up getting rescued within seven seventy two hours. Yeah, yeah, it was intense. So I play her mom, I know, yes, yes, I know. I look too young to play this girl's.

Mom because we was definitely gonna say that, okay.

And the mom's name is Keisha.

Yeah, her name is Keisha, and she was just really determined, really determined.

To find her child.

And the one thing about this story is, you know, when we come up missing black women, black girls, the news coverage is not there. It's just like such a disparity and the way they cover us going missing and the way they cover other people going missing, so yes, others, And so I love this for us, I love this for a lifetime because they've like taken on this initiative to highlight all of these black girls missing stories and like a series.

Of lifetime is doing.

But yeah, but her back to you know, the role that I play, it's a really serious role for me, is one of like I haven't been a lead in a movie in.

A long time, so I'm just excited. You know. She's tough, she's.

Brave, and she's like, you know, in a way, very controlled. She's a thinker, she's not like emotional, yeah, you know, fall And I didn't want to play her like that. I wanted to play her controlled and like methodic.

Did you get a chance to talk to mom and.

No, no, they've been active, Like, you know, the story is pretty fresh, so she's not.

She didn't come to the set.

She's but she's been talking to producers and writers Carlsha. But it's really, you know, it's still really kind of fresh. So I don't know if you'll ever like really talk to her see her anytimes.

Did you get to meet Carlsia. How involved was she?

No? Not not either.

No, Carlish is the one who's been like giving her, you know, her accounting of what happened.

But uh, yeah, she hasn't been seen. She may show up, but I'm not sure.

But I just respect the fact that through all the pain and I mean the ordeal, that the man almost killed her, he raped her multiple times, so she survived and she was determined, like her sole focus was I need to get home to my family.

Did you take this role after I can't remember the lady's name, but after the girl who was on the side of the road, so has she's seen a white baby walking down?

That was I shot it. Yeah, I shot it before.

I shot it before, but imagine like they're kind of parallel, but obviously one was lying. But the fact that she was trying to capitalize off of like someone kidnapping her, abducting her.

So that was like and then to see a real story, yeah like this, yes, slay out like that that it has to be.

I just make it feel.

Bad exactly, like, girl, this stuff is really happening. Girls are not coming home and you over heere playing with us, playing in our faces.

So as a mother, how did you relate to the role, Like, how did it do? Was it very sensitive for you some parts just because you are a mom?

Yeah, it was tough because in my mind I put the script down when I read it the first time. I think I read ten pages and then I was like, oh, I can't do this.

I was like, yeah, no, this one is not for.

Me, because it did like hit close to home. I think a mother's biggest fear, especially a mother of a of a of a daughter, a girl, you want to protect them at all costs, and your biggest fear is something will happen to them.

And so when I read the first scenes of.

Her being matched, her being you know, raped, all that stuff, I was like, oh, I can't, I can't do this, you know, And then I thought about, Okay, let me why why did this script come to me? Because I think it's a higher it's it's it's it's a deeper reason.

Why projects come to you or work come to you. I think it's divine steps. So I said, let me, let me look at this in a different way. Why should I do it?

Awareness?

Yeah? Awareness, because honestly, the way that the story is written in the movie Unfold, it will save lives. If you watch this movie, you will get ahead.

Of situations, you will avoid situations, you will know what to do in situations to basically survive and get back home.

You know.

So I said, you know, if I can help to save lives, especially with girls and women who look like me, that's that's all the reason I needed to like overcome my fear.

I wont how triggering this is for the family, like when they watch it, and and for you know, Carlicia, like she watches it like you kind of got to relive all of that.

Yeah you do. I don't know.

You know, we haven't had an opportunity to talk to her, but I think she was just so brave to tell her story. But she has two kids, you know, I know that she's focusing on that.

And she had kids before.

I've seen photos.

It's actually a photo at the end of the movie, and she's the children are fairly young, two little boys, I think, so, I'm not exactly sure, but you know she's focusing on being a mom. So can you imagine like being able to talk about I think she had them after.

I think, yeah, well, I want to I want to ask. I know your housewives, O G.

Have to ask.

We talked about the movie while you.

Hear and Century Okay says she's not doing housewives anymore.

What's your thoughts after fourteen years.

I heard you behind the saying how happy you were that she's not coming back.

Now, you know, Charlotte was bubblings and rumblings.

You know, no, so I knew she had told me before that she had made the decision.

And sometimes you.

Know, you need you may need a break. You know, she's doing a lot of things. That girl is a.

Mini Mogo, you know she's doing She's got her hands and some of everything, and she's very successful. And honestly, money.

Just matriculates around Kenny. You know, for years, Kenny, she's got the Midas touch. Whatever she touches turns to goal. So she is going to be obviously all right financially, I think she might just be like, you know, I want to explore some other things. I think it's because they did take so long to try to figure out who's coming back, what are they doing with the cast?

So I'm happy for you know, I think she's chasing her dreams.

She's happy, her relationship is great, her family is good.

I remember, now, they were getting rid of everybody at one point, didn't they.

There were rumors, they didn't announce, there were rumors, but everybody. Yeah, No, they were trying to do like they were saying that they possibly could do a recast like New York did. But I'm like, nah, you can't get it, get rid of everyone.

It's too many, like network, you know what I mean. We were the.

Crown jewel of Bravo above all the other shows. So hopefully, you know, we can get back to that.

Say people saying the ratings were low.

See, that's that is a complete lie. The ratings never drive.

We are actually doing We're in the top five of all of the shows on Bravo, So how are our ratings doing poorly? That's just again things people say because of their perception of what they're you know, what they're looking at in terms of, oh, well, I don't like this season, in which you know, people always complain about seasons, and then they'll start saying, yeah, that's why the ratings are love.

But they're comparing.

They have to look at the ratings for the network and how people are watching TV now. So before they would always release live ratings, but the ratings count their plus ten numbers, so their plus three, their plus sevens, they're plus ten.

That's what they look at.

And even our live ratings are again on par with the top five on the entire network. So what do you it's just rumors people.

I believe that they like to be in the comments and that that is the comments people, you know, and people say that, but you know, people have their favorites and everything opinionated. But I want to ask you, it took you three years to finalize your divorce? Well, congratulations, thank you.

This is.

There.

I love it. Look it's amazing.

Why the judge still didn't sign off yet, So the paperwork is there. So I'm waiting every day, I'm checking online to see if he signed off. He didn't get foolishness, you know, I'm one I'm very sensible. Like I know what y'all might think of me on TV or whatever, I'm on a show, but I am very reasonable if you sit down and you talk to me and you make sense.

Okay. I didn't think we should ever go to court.

I think we didn't have any property together, we didn't build anything together.

We had a child.

We can agree on the child support because he was already paying a number already.

I'm like, I'll take this.

I'm not gonna ask for more or less, and let's just you come in and you leave with what you came in, you know with, you leave with what you came in with, and that's what it should have been. And I don't think that all the money that we spent for him fighting me, he ended up with less than what he started with.

And I'm out of three years of tuition for my child to.

Go to school.

So he wanted more?

What did he want?

Because it seems like like you said, you come in with I can that's what he wanted.

Drama. He wanted drama.

He started off the line just kept moving whenever, and at some point I.

Was like, here you go, this is what you want.

Here you go, and the line kept being moved on what he wanted.

Then it was this, then it was that, and then he had the nerve to want.

Now you remember how he was saying he didn't want to be on TV, okay, and then so he at the end he supposedly had some opportunity to be on TV and he wanted to.

Film with my daughter.

And I was like, but that's why I sued you to begin with, because you you wouldn't sign the release for Brooklyn to film with me, someone who's been on the show for ten years. And then you want to say, oh, well, if I go, I'm taking Brooklyn with me. So I'm like, yeah, no, no, no, that's the one thing I stood on business with Yeah, because I'm like, that's the.

One thing you're not gonna take.

I take care of this child twenty four to seven, and it is my right as the primary custodio parent to be able to allow her to do whatever I want her to do. And he tried to basically remove that right for me when it comes to him because he wanted to do his little TV show.

Yeah, because that there was a statement that he tried to undo your rights.

He did.

Yeah, when it comes to that yeah.

Yeah, he supposedly he told me that, yeah, that they were filming he wanted Brooklyn the film or.

He doesn't say a lot of details on purpose. So but now I have soul custodies.

I was gonna say, is he still doing that? Okay?

No, no, the judge awarded me sold custody.

It sound like he didn't want to let you go.

It was that he didn't want he wanted his marriage.

I know people see and say things a lot of crazy stuff on TV.

At the end of the day, that man will not sign those papers. Because if you want somebody to leave, sure, and y'all don't have anything together. Why are you sitting here fighting. I'm not with you about child support? What else is there?

Why can't he just be honest about it? Why can't he just come to you and say, can you I want to work?

He did, He did, he did before, and and I was just like at some point I was like, it's too toxic. They're not doing the work. You know, he wasn't doing the work to me. He needed he needed to go to therapy, and then we needed to go together.

I always go to therapy, you know, I think that it's a great thing.

I think so many years it's been like this dark stigma of you know, black people think, you know, oh therapy, When are you crazy? You know, saying things like that, But it is so beneficial to to just learning about yourself, how you interact with people. It's just necessary. So I was just like, well, you keep saying you want the marriage, but you're not doing the work. And then at some point I was just like, yeah, I'm okay, Yeah.

I'm okay.

What if he started doing the work now?

Oh well, apparently he has a fiance now, so I don't know. Is she she's not black?

Jesus, how you feel about that?

Come through with the breakfast club ex.

How do you feel about him and his wife?

Right races? I don't really care what she is. Good good luck to her, that's you know.

And at some point that's all you can do is I wish you well, it's not my problem anymore.

Please Judge, hurry up inside my papers. And then that's it, you know. I just feel a relief like this is like the new era of me. I'm going to do any and everything that I want to do. I feel like when you have someone taking up that space in your life, you can't have anybody else come feel it because there's no space there.

They always in the back of your mind, you know, doing all.

Kinds of things to try to bring you down, hurt you, prevent you from thriving. And I feel like, you know what, You're not gonna hold me down anymore.

So this is new era of me, you know. So I'm actually happy. It feels good. When I heard that, I just laughed. I was like, oh, girl, not girl, but you know, but yeah.

Yeah, is not an issue with him at all?

Now, Well he doesn't see her to co parent, so you don't even see her. No, Yeah, I think the last time was like last year March.

Yeah, are you keeping that because of you? Because he's just not making the effort.

He's not making the effort, is you know, he's not making the effort. She's here now and he's from lives in Williamsburg.

You had a party in New York.

What you said you had a birthday party?

You had no birthday party is in Atlanta. Yeah, he lives across the bridge and she's here and he's too.

Busy to see her.

Damn ain't being a single I don't know.

Yeah, it's it's different, you know actually the days. Yeah, it's different, it's different, but you know, thanks to us.

Sure.

Oh it's been a lot of activity in the d N. You know.

You know when when he serenated, Yeah that was oh so you mean like people saw the video and it was like, damn.

Can you steel that?

Like you forgot about this?

Talked about.

You know, Yeah, it was fun. Likes it's interesting. Yeah, I'm dating. I'm dating.

So what if somebody take Kenya that that you that you love? I mean because I remember that list came out. They can't take you to at of Garden.

Cheese you mean because she was like a cheese factory probably twice a week, like with my daughter. I mean, I don't care about stuff like that.

I like somebody that I can have fun with, that is a good person, that's a good partner, who can.

Make you laugh.

They don't have to match me dollar for dollar, you know, they just have to I don't want to take care of anybody, but.

You know what I mean, be gainfully employed.

But you don't have to be a mega millionaire, you know with your own yacht and private plane and all that, but just be a good person.

Yes, we can eventually build and get there.

Yeah, you can get there together. You have to have the potential and.

The desire, you know, you have to be ambitious, I think, yeah, and you are.

Yes, absolutely, yeah, absolutely, I love that.

I love that because you hear how you know some marriages, you know, it doesn't work for women, and then they just be like, I'm not doing this.

Yeah, and then here she got married three years later. You just can't let one. You can't break my soul. Yeah, you can't break my soul.

How has business been going with the hairs girl?

So good?

Right, So it's it's amazing, like it's learning a whole new business, you know, brick and mortar.

My hair care line is doing well. We're in like over five thousand doors. Can you more haircare?

You know, expanding in in the spring to two more major retailers.

Congratulation.

I'm just it's growing, you know what I mean. It's I'm doing well.

You have some special clients.

Your daughter, yes, yes, and yeah I've never straightened her hair, you know.

Yeah.

Yeah, So I don't believe in like I just little girls should just be a little gunless. It's a special occasion, like my grandmother, did you know straighten my hair if it was like a birthday or like a wedding or something, but it wasn't like every day.

Would you like edge of edge protection stuff?

I tell everything in shampoo conditioners, like you know, stuff like that.

Now, I saw you recently to say that any Leek's future with Real Housewives of Atlanta is day.

Well, the way you just said, you are very it's a house husband's coming to you.

Soon, Starr, She said she doesn't have a future.

I didn't say.

Now listen, what I said was this what Andy said, which is our boss. He decides yes or no. Recently when we did Bravo Khan. So the question always comes up because people love Nini, you know, they love her and I love her too like I love her for the Show's been very very clear about that, and I'm honest about that. He said, Ninnie told me to keep her name out of my mouth, and that's exactly what I'm doing us. That is what he said verbatim. I didn't make that up. Okay, it's not my fight. I

But you know, she sued, her employer.

She was saying a lot of really nasty things about each and everyone of you know, the parties.

I just don't know how you can come back from that.

But hey, I'm a forgiving person, so maybe there are people at the network and others that could forgive and and there may be a future. I don't know what those cards say. I was just going by what our boss said.

So where did that headline come from?

I mean the headline, Yeah, that's why I didn't know. Well, not exactly how you said it.

Ken you more says let doesn't have a shuture in real health.

Well, I said, I don't think so I can't call somebody's future, you know, I'm just going by what our boss said.

You know, so that's it.

But you do think she'd be good.

I've always said that. I mean, I've never said she with me.

She I mean, listen, she was, she was the breakout star of that show and she has left a legacy behind and of course she's she's a mess. You know, you don't heeds a mess. She's talking about her her man.

And he wasn't good and bad and he's this and.

That, like you know, like, girl, why how old are you talking about this man like.

This, But yeah, these are the things that people want to see, is those you know.

They like people that don't have it together.

Nobody is perfect. So if you could just take a peek.

At other people's lives and they're doing all kinds of crazy stuff.

It's fun to watch. Kind of fun to watch a train wrack.

Right, Remember that conversation that was happening when they were saying, how you know, like a black reality TV start couldn't get to the hypes of a Kim Kim Kardashian.

Yes, oh that was Oh who was that? She didn't get what at the time what Kim was? Getty?

Correct?

You think it's possible for a black reality TV started to get to the Kim Kardashian level.

I mean, who else is on Kim Kardashian's level, whether they're on reality TV or not, Like, Kim Kardashian is a billionaire mogul, and who else could like?

Who else is on her level? Forget about reality.

And the actually watched them grow up like their whole franchise, the whole family.

You know, you can't those are apples and yeah, oranges, you can't compare the two. But I thought it was very interesting that she tried it though she I think that was it. She tried it statement because.

It's more than reality TV, like like when they come to k Like, it's not just that that made her who she is.

Yeah, I mean, listen, there there are a lot of things that play there.

There are the family dynamics. You know, her her family came from like Holly, you know, Hollywood.

Royalty, who dated She's a stunning girl.

You know it was a stunning girl.

I mean, I'll just say that that you can you can't compare the two and what's for her is for her and what what's for Nini is Forernini?

What do you think about compensation? Do you think that you know, the black cast members get compensated like.

Beverly Hills, like.

Jersey, Like, yeah, on our network, yeah, Nini was the highest pay well Nini and then Candy took over that, but at some point, yeah, the two highest paid women on the network were two black women. So yeah, I do absolutely. I can't speak for other networks. I don't really know the inner work, and I can just tell you what I know. I enjoy it at times, you know, sometimes it's really fun. I didn't enjoy last season at all.

I just feel like it was dark.

It was people just there. You know, when people come in and they're so desperate to hold a peach and they just do anything and lie and just cause commotion and it's not organic. Like when I came on, I was a mess, and I was a mess because I just was you know, I wasn't trying to play this or play it.

I wasn't trying to play the reality start.

I became a reality start, you know what I mean, because I was myself. I didn't watch seasons ahead of time. I didn't know what anybody was doing. I was just reacting to all the stuff that was going on around me and then just bringing my own, you know, crazy life to the table.

These girls, now.

They've had what fifteen seasons to watch us, study us, and they know and they're fans.

They're coming in as fans, and they're coming in desperate to hold the peach. And that's what.

Makes it unfortunate, because when you are desperate for something, you will do anything, and we saw that play out, and that's to me what was unfortunate.

Like Kim Zosiak is a natural mess, you know, Nini had her own issues. She was funny, but she also had her her issues that she brought.

Candy has always been the poster child for being transparent, you know what I mean with her mom's situation and all the things that's going on.

So we just kind of need to go get back to what's real? What's real?

Would you want to see that?

The original the OG's Kim you Porscha Nini? Would you want to see that? You think people would want to see that? You read all, Oh yeah.

People would call for that all the time.

I don't think it's a possibility, but if they could make that happen, yeah, that would be cool. They need to do an ultimate Girls trip and have all the ogs there.

I think I think that I think that would be hot right that?

Yes the least, Yes, Ravo, you better run me my check for that.

How hard was it like when you first made the transition, because you know, you come from the pageant world.

For twenty twenty plus years before even doing uh reality, So that's why I was like clueless, like, okay, what we we don't have a schedule, we don't have lines.

What is this?

You know?

I didn't know what I was doing? Was it you said it was what.

Was the transition? Was it hard for you to start being transparent or.

It was hard because you know I'm I am an og not just by like being there a long time, but you know, I'm not twenty years old, so.

Really no stop cutt it out.

But you know, there wasn't social media. There wasn't like stars didn't talk to the media. Like the biggest stars never talked to the media. You never saw Brad Pitt talk to me. You never saw you know, these huge Tom Cruise He never talked to the media.

And then once he did, everything started going crazy.

So we didn't have this thirst for you know, blood like you see in social media now. So everything, you know, people didn't have iPhones.

I had my first phone. Let me not tell my age, let me shut up. Just yeah you do, you do. But we didn't have cell phones, you know what I mean. We had the phones at home. Your your recorder.

You know what is it with the voice recorder When people leave you message you have to go home and press the but answer me.

Thank you so much.

She tried to bury it so far back, but yeah, we we it was a different era.

So now yeah, everything is everything was just shocking to me.

I fought social media still do. I rarely like to post, but I know it's good for business.

It's not good for your mental health.

No, it's nice, so toxic and so crazy.

And the things that people say, like again making up stuff like just as you oh, you know whatever, they feel like saying it could just make up a lie and then all of a sudden it spreads and then people really.

Believe it, like even saying people are dead, like you know how it.

Is, Yeah, run like that, and the person got to be like ya, I'm here.

Yeah, like I don't have to be put in a position of like fact checking, like if you're alive or not, you know what I mean.

Your people in the background, like okay.

Over five minutes, no, no.

Laughing more.

Yeah, so I'm just just hilarious.

But yeah, your family Baltimore.

I always be like when when she when she first came on, Like that's my aunt.

I used to say it all the time.

Yeah, because you're you're you're a beautiful woman.

Yeah.

People ain't believe me and.

Know I just that's so yeah, yo, Auntie not have family in Virginia Louisiana primarily, but not Yeah, it's all right.

So now they know it's a.

Last tell them when they can catch out the check out the Lifetime shut Off the Street.

Abducted Off the Street is coming out on Saturday at a PM on Lifetime.

Everybody, please support this movie.

This is how we're going to bring our black girls who are missing, our black women who are missing home. And if something ever happens to your family, you can figure out how to survive, how to get out, and how to see your family again.

All right, ladies and gentlemen

In the Morning Breakfast Club