NOW: Kenya Moore (right) goes to battle with NeNe Leakes (left).
THEN: Moore was the second black woman to win Miss USA. (
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Kenya Moore’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta” opening-credits quote is, “I won Miss USA, not Miss Congeniality.”
She proves her point by getting into a heated fight her freshman season with “Housewives” veteran NeNe Leakes.
The fight was shown in a widely-circulated clip that has earned the beauty queen buzz before her first episode has even aired. (Season 5 premieres Nov. 4 on Bravo.)
“Listen, we were in Anguilla. There were people that were being rude, obnoxious, distasteful, and that doesn’t sit well with me and so I had a very visceral response and NeNe was definitely a part of that,” Moore tells The Post. “It’s definitely an episode that people will want to watch.”
Moore took home the Miss USA title in 1993, and since then has appeared in movies like “Waiting to Exhale,” “Deliver Us From Eva” and modeled for Essence, Ebony and Glamour magazines.
She moved to Atlanta from LA over the summer to be closer to family and her boyfriend, Walter.
Moore describes her relationship with the “Housewives” as very different than her showbiz friendships.
“I’ve been best friends with people like Tyra Banks and Tracey Edmonds and Shaun Robinson,” Moore said. “We have a great sisterhood. We’re supportive of each other. We’re kind to each other, and we’re good girlfriends.
“I didn’t experience that fighting in my normal life in Hollywood. It is definitely a marked difference to me in the Atlanta situation.”
“Real Housewives of Atlanta” is the highest-rated of all of the “Housewives,” a franchise defined by its over-the-top personalities and dramatic confrontations. But Moore said she had no hesitations about joining the cast.
“You know what, I’ve been in worse situations. I’m a fighter, I’m from Detroit,” she said. “I’m very resilient. I’m really not afraid of anything. So, some reality stars from Atlanta? No, I wasn’t afraid of any of them. I’ve been to the Academy Awards, I’m not afraid of a ‘Housewife’!”
As filming for her first season on reality TV wraps, Moore has mixed emotions reflecting on the experience.
“I had some fun in the beginning, but sometimes that fun would turn into the deepest, darkest thing,” she said.