Nene Leakes’ ‘African tribal dance’

Whenever “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” comes on, we look away. But sometimes we can’t. Like the time they went to “Africa.” It was really just South Africa and they stayed in air conditioned hotels (they called the Ghanaian president for advice before they left). Then there’s the ongoing saga of the “African prince” which one of the housewives, Kenya Moore — or is it Portia Williams? — claims to date (on Instagram, she posts pics of the swag he supposedly gives her, but no pics of him, or of them together).  There was a rumor that the alleged boyfriend was Teodoro Obiang. Of course, we know Teodoro is a sort of prince in that his corrupt family runs Equatorial Guinea like it their kingdom. Others said it was D’Banj. Then the other housewives claimed Moore paid D’Banj to play her boyfriend. Yes, we’re tired of all this nonsense, too, what with the TV network that produces the “Housewives” franchise, Bravo, milking the “African prince” story for all its worth as can be seen from this video from a few days ago. But sometimes, the housewives skip the dating/man/catfight-centered plotlines and branch out (they’re celebrities and “talent” now) and actually try to do other things. Like when Nene Leakes (just google her) did an “African tribal dance” on the current season of “Dancing with the Stars.” During a recent episode, Nene and Derek Hough, her dance partner (not her regular one; something about a “switch up”) decided to do a jazz number. This became an “African, tribal dance.” Because, as everyone knows, jazz dancing is tribal and came from the jungles. Of Harlem. So here’s Nene explaining to E!Online how they came up with the “African tribal dance” theme:

He said, ‘Hunni nobody can do this, you’re the only person here who can do this. You’re always the queen bee, and fabulous, and over the top, so there’s nobody else here who can do an African tribal dance. You’re the only black girl here.’ I thought that was creative and awesome and I was like whaaaat?! I’ve only been to Africa one time I don’t know what they do over there, but let’s try it!

Despite the fact that Nene has no more knowledge of Africa and its tribals than the producers and Derek Hough, they still did their African tribal dance. Her costume and the dancing — a mix between a bad Bollywood number,  an extra on ‘The Lion King’ musical, and a terrible version of Josephine Baker’s banana dance — are eyewateringly painful to behold. We don’t know if the producers were knowingly having fun at Nene’s expense, or are truly that ignorant and racist. And here’s the evidence. Send small children out of the room:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yXKd59CpUk&feature=youtu.be&t=20s

Further Reading

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Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.