Taking sides? Erika Jayne has NeNe Leakes’ back after the Real Housewives of Atlanta star claimed that Lisa Vanderpump stole the Pump Restaurant concept from her.
“NeNe don’t lie,” Jayne, 47, exclusively told Us Weekly at her Too Faced x Pretty Mess Collection launch party in West Hollywood on Thursday, February 7. “NeNe can take damn good care of herself.”
Leakes, 51, stirred up controversy this month after claiming that she gave the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 58, the idea for Pump. “She did some real foul s—t to me,” the fashion designer said on the February 1 episode of Jenny McCarthy’s SiriusXM show, noting that she and husband Gregg Leakes once wanted to buy the lot on Santa Monica Boulevard where Pump Restaurant stands.
“At the time, Greg and I were living in [Los Angeles] and I was working on Glee and New Normal,” the Never Make the Same Mistake Twice author explained. “We ride down the West Hollywood area where all the gay bars are — and I have a large gay fan base — and I kept thinking, ‘It would be so cool if I had a bar right in here somewhere.’ And that space was empty and kind of raggedy-looking and torn down.”
Leakes then ran the idea by the Beverly Hills-based restaurateur, who currently owns Hollywood hotspots Villa Blanca and SUR. “She said, ‘Oh, darling, it’s a piece of crap and they’re charging so much for it, darling,” the Atlanta resident recalled. “She talked me out of it and then went and got it. … That’s so f—ked up.”
The British socialite purchased the space, which became home to her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills spinoff show, Vanderpump Rules, which premiered in 2013. She has yet to respond to Leakes’ allegations.
Vanderpump previously came under fire for feuding with her RHOBH costars in a slew of events that will unfold on the series’ ninth season. Jayne, however, isn’t concerned about the drama and is staying focused on her work.
The pop star told Us on Thursday that she has nothing to be worried about once the show comes back. “I’m not bracing for anything, except my collaboration with Too Faced,” she quipped.
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 9 premieres on Bravo on Tuesday, February 12, at 9 p.m. ET.
