Entertainment

The 'RHOA' Cast Is Hesitant To Go Makeup-Free

by Kayla Hawkins

This week on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, even though the former queen bee NeNe Leakes claimed she was going to return to the show by staking her territory, it was Kenya Moore who took a stand — though Kim Fields' anti-makeup brunch certainly didn't win her any new fans, either. It was Kim's turn to host an event, and since she doesn't have a new single or a line of sunglasses to promote, she decided to host a simple brunch that was designed to be a safe space for all the ladies to not wear makeup or get totally dolled up. As expected, that did not go over well, and every single member of the cast wound up darkening Kim's door with just as much makeup on as usual.

I loved the cutaway to all of the RHOA dressed to the nines while hanging out at home. Because that's this group of women, and when it comes to their TV appearances, they are all about the "beat," in terms of makeup, hair, clothes, purses, I mean... these ladies rarely go low key while on the show. Of course, when the series is not filming, I'm sure the ladies dial it down somewhat. But as Kenya said, it was a little condescending to take it upon herself to tell adult women how much beauty enhancements they are/are not allowed to make.

Before the brunch, Kim spoke about how uncomfortable she sometimes feels in the circle of ladies in the cast. She felt like she was celebrating the "real" women, but the rest of the cast interpreted it as pretty shady to suggest that makeup-free somehow conflates with "real." And their reactions were hilarious, from Kandi suggesting that in lieu of giving up makeup Kim give up her collection of wigs, to Porsha showing up with not one, but two pairs of fake lashes.

The conflict over makeup wound up petering out (though Kenya still seems pretty salty about the perceived insult of the gesture), but these ladies still won't be spotted without a beat — and honestly, that's how it should be on Atlanta — everything about the show is over the top, from the fights to the wigs to the manicures to, yes, their fabulous makeup.

Image: Bravo (screenshot)