Shamea Morton is keeping her spot on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and NeNe Leakes is not joining her, according to Andy Cohen.
Cohen directly denied both casting rumors after claims about Shamea’s alleged firing and NeNe’s possible return began circulating online.
“And I read all these; there are a lot of casting rumors online which came out over the weekend, and I’m going to tell you that they’re not true,” the Bravo executive producer said during a live video.
Cohen also told fans that the current Atlanta lineup offers the clearest preview of what Bravo has planned.
Andy Cohen spoke on the casting rumors for ‘RHOA’ Season 18 and stated that if you want a glimpse at next season’s group, look no further than the upcoming season 17 reunion and that they (being executives) are very happy with the cast. #RHOA
— No Chaser TV (@nochaser_tv) August 3, 2026
Source: Radio Andy pic.twitter.com/UTnF01sLGb
“And I am going to tell you that if you want a preview of next season of Atlanta, look at this cast. This is the group, guys. I mean, we love this group. So spoiler alert, we’re very happy,” he added.
The cast includes Shamea, Porsha Williams, Phaedra Parks, Drew Sidora, Kelli Ferrell and Angela Oakley.
NeNe’s name has remained tied to the series even after her legal conflict with Bravo and Cohen. At one point, she accused the executive of racism and threatened legal action. She later expressed a willingness to repair their relationship, leaving some fans hopeful that the original Atlanta star might eventually return.