Porsha Williams Was Never Supposed to Be Cast on 'RHOA’

In part one of Kenya Moore’s interview with Carlos King on his podcast, Reality With the King, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star shared the story of her becoming a peach holder. It was during this story that listeners learned some new information about Porsha Williams, and how she joined the long-standing reality series.

‘RHOA’ Had the World’s Longest Audition Process

Kenya shared that before she was given her peach she was filmed for over a month. During this time, the main cast of RHOA went on strike. Why? Because Kim Zolciak-Biermann was receiving preferential treatment from Bravo and Andy Cohen. The cast was upset primarily due to the fact that Kim was not following through with the standard obligations all the housewives had to stick to. She was skipping trips, events, and even scheduled filmed moments. Her diva behavior went unacknowledged by the producers, and when Kim stormed off the set, the housewives went on strike. Since Kenya was in the midst of filming, they turned their full attention to her audition, meaning that a good portion of what was filmed happened while she wasn’t even a housewife. During filming, the producers wanted her to attend an event being hosted by Porsha, who was then married to retired NFL star, Kordell Stewart. They met for lunch ahead of time and Kenya was unfazed by their meeting. What came next, however, changed RHOA history.

Accidental Battle Between Porsha Williams and Kenya Moore Leads to An Accidental Casting

Kenya’s attendance at the event was marred by an altercation between herself and Porsha. Things began getting heated when Porsha messed up Kenya’s title, referring to her as Miss America, not Miss USA. Kenya corrected her, and despite Porsha making light of the mistake, she was able to move on. The producers pulled Porsha aside, and when she came back, she went in on Kenya, hitting her with insults left and right. Kenya, who is triggered by unwarranted insults due to the horrendous relationship with her mother since childhood, began throwing it right back at her and the fight began. All of this filmed footage was used in season 5, and thanks to Kim walking off set with no word as to if she was going to come back, Porsha earned her peach.

Porsha Williams Took ‘RHOA’ to the Next Level, But Was Almost Fired Early On

Kenya’s admissions about Porsha during her interview makes a few things fans heard about in the past make sense. In 2020 Andy Cohen shared during an interview on The Jenny McCarthy Showthat Porsha was almost fired from the show after her first season. Now the fact that the idea was floating around makes absolute sense. She was technically only there as a fill in for Kim Zolciak in the first place. Initially, it seemed as if her presence would not be a necessity after that first season, and when the reunion came up, Andy said it seemed likely that she'd get the boot, especially since her marriage to Kordell appeared fickle when he skipped the reunion taping. However, her personal life shifted when he filed for divorce, and consequently led to her permanent casting after Nene Leakes and Kandi Burruss told producers Porsha should be back the next season.

The day before the reunion filmed it was announced that Porsha’s then husband, Kordell Stewart, had decided it was time for their marriage to end. Given that she had to film the reunion the next day, Porsha was in a pretty emotionally raw place. Andy shared that it was a speech she gave after being spurred by a question about Kordell that led to his mind being changed.

"She got up there at that reunion, and I was watching her, and [when] I left, I was like, I stan for Porsha. That was incredible, and she cemented her place on the show. She gave like a two-minute soliloquy about who she was and how she was gonna live her life going forward, and this was not gonna define her, and she's stronger than this. And I was like, I totally underestimated this woman, and look at where she is now on the show," Andy would later reveal.

It was ultimately the right decision. Based on her social media follower count, Porsha is the second most popular housewife out of all the Real Housewives franchises. This also more proof that when people go on strike in the pursuit of equity, positive changes and shifts are produced.