Before The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 16 kicked off, my favorite person announced to be a part of the cast was the returning vet, Porsha Williams. Porsha has usually been a source of laughs amongst all the drama of reality TV. Although she’s not above arguing and shading some of her castmates, her natural comedic antics are what I remember most.
However, as the season 16 episodes continue to roll out, I can say Porsha isn’t the runaway star of the franchise. After eight weeks, I’m surprised to say that Angela Oakley is the star of the season, ironically thanks in part to Porsha’s antics (honorable mention to Shamea Morton).
Porsha and Angela have been clashing from the moment the group touched down in Nashville for Porsha’s birthday celebration. To be fair, I have to call Angela out for inviting Drew Sidora on Porsha’s trip, knowing Porsha and Drew are at odds. Angela may have had the good intentions of wanting to patch things up between the two women, but in terms of birthday trip decorum, Angela was out of order. But Porsha’s visceral response has felt entirely unwarranted, even calling Angela an "it" in a conversation with Shamea.
In The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 16 episode 8, “Boots on the Ground,” Porsha takes things to a place where they didn’t need to go. At her birthday dinner, Angela brings up the fact that Brit Eady mentioned that Porsha believes Angela has been playing victim in their back-and-forth. Shamea further clarifies that Porsha believes Angela is guilty of “gaslighting.” Angela calmly addresses Porsha directly, asking why Porsha feels gaslit, and Porsha passive-aggressively answers with “I don’t remember.” Angela tries her best to clear the air, but between Brit and Shamea taking up Porsha’s battle and Porsha ignoring the conversation, things go left.
Angela asks why she’s the only one “ever held accountable?” She then turns to Kelli and wonders if she ever got her response from Porsha, referencing when Kelli wanted to know “why did she [Porsha] take that woman’s husband?” As Angela sees it, Porsha was never held accountable for the issues surrounding her second marriage, and believes “the world” never got the answers.
Cynthia tries to break up the very tense moment at this point by suggesting the group move on. She questions if Porsha wants to address anything Angela said first, and Porsha responds, “No, I want Angela to kiss my a**.”
Fast forward to later, and Porsha, Brit, Shamea and Kelli have a late-night party at the pool. As Angela recaps, around 2:30 am, she was on the phone with her husband, retired NBA star Charles Oakley, and she heard her name. Angela alleges that Porsha was “inebriated” and she heard Porsha say, “I should f**k Charles.” According to Angela, the four ladies continue to talk about her, and in a move I can’t help but respect, she goes to the pool to confront the ladies (which is seen on camera). Porsha, in particular, claims she didn’t say anything about Angela or her husband.
Now in her confessional, when a producer questions Porsha directly if she talked about Angela or Charles at the pool, subtitles state Porsha replied, “I didn’t say anything, okay?” But if you ask me, it sounds like she said “I didn’t say hennything” ( a reference to Hennessy drink). Either way, Kelli in her confessional confirms that Porsha stated, "She [Angela] better stop before I f**k her husband."
When Andy Cohen subsequently asked Porsha about the comment on Watch Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Porsha laughingly states, "First off, all my public apologies, but I don’t know hennything.” She further goes on to say it was a “late-night kiki” and “she [Angela] wasn’t supposed to hear that.”
Considering all the turmoil that ensued surrounding Porsha’s engagement to her soon-to-be ex, I was stunned Porsha would make such a statement, even if it was perhaps in jest. Not only that, but I’m not a fan of anyone being trashed by a group of people when the person is within earshot of the gossip.
Kudos to Angela for not only confronting them, but also for being able to crack jokes about the whole ordeal in her confessional. Additionally, I applaud her for not putting on for the cameras when Kelli approached her, all smiles, the day after the pool incident. Angela bluntly told her she didn’t want to dabble in fake conversation. Judging by the following preview clip for the episode airing on May 4, Angela is going to further address the elephants in the room in a mighty shady, yet comical, way.
Outside of Angela's ability to go toe-to-toe with Porsha and address things head-on, I also appreciate her as a housewife because her storyline with her family appears real and relatable. Her dynamic with her husband is enjoyable to watch, especially as it appears he's not playing it up for the cameras. I love it when reality stars come off as authentic.
New episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 16 air on Sundays at 8 pm ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes become available the next day on Peacock.
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