NeNe Leakes out on 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta'?

NYDN.com:

Has NeNe Leakes gotten too big for her Bravo britches?


An insider tells us Leakes' stint as a cast member of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" may be coming to an end for a number of reasons - including her extra-grande ego.


The reality star, who shot to fame on the franchise along with "Tardy for the Party" singer Kim Zolciak and amateur designer Sheree Whitfield, has become best known for her catty comments and friendship with Bravo exec and television personality Andy Cohen. (In a New York Times profile of Cohen, Anderson Cooper recounted the "Watch What Happens Live" host "drunk-dialing" him from a car in which Leakes was riding.)


But our insider tells us that Cohen's relationship with the "Real" housewife has become strained due to NeNe's "disrespectful" and "arrogant behavior."


The insider says Neakes' aggressive behavior toward Zolciak - one incident of which was depicted on the reality series - has prompted the network to reevaluate NeNe's position on the show.


At the end of season two, Leakes grabbed the aspiring singer by the throat. The two began season three by making up but had fallen out again by last month's finale.


Apparently, Zolciak is not the only one who wants nothing to do with Leakes. "She's alienated all of the women other than Cynthia [Bailey]," the source says. "So, as of now, the plan is to "phase" Leakes out within the first two to three episodes of season four, which begins in October.


Another source familiar with the situation says Leakes' ego has become even more outsized since her local stint on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice," which premieres tonight. Leakes, says the source, "acts like there wouldn't be a network without her." (NBC Universal owns NBC-TV, which airs "Celebrity Apprentice," and the Bravo cable net, which runs the "Real Housewives" franchise.)


Yet, though Cohen and the Atlanta "Housewives" producers may have cooled on Leakes, she may ultimately get her own show. Our first source says a spinoff for Leakes has "been in the works for a while. (We also hear Zolciak, who is pregnant by the Atlanta Falcons' Kroy Biermann, is exploring a spinoff for her and her baby's daddy.)


Our second source disputes this, however, saying Cohen has been adamant that Bethenny Frankel, a former "Real Housewives" of NYC cast member who currently has her own show, is "the exception, not the rule."