Look, this season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta was never going to be the most exciting one ever. It’s taking place during the pandemic, which means that we’re getting face masks, no international travel, and a dominating storyline about Cynthia Bailey planning her superspreader event — er, I mean, wedding. So, perhaps it should be no surprise that one of the best bits of drama this season came from something so small: Kenya Moore ordering herself a crab cake.
On this season’s cast trip to Isle of Palms, South Carolina, Kenya serves as the “host.” You know, the person said to have planned the entire trip even though production is clearly involved. And Kenya’s time hosting got off to a rough start before anyone even landed in SC… or drove up in a van. Yep, Kenya took a private plane while the rest of the women were on a Sprinter van with inadequate air conditioning.
Things got worse from there, with all the women on the trip finding multiple bones to pick with Miss Kenya “Kenya Moore Hair Care” Moore, from her ordering a lunch without offering them any, to not apologizing for ordering lunch and not offering them any properly. And all of these reasons the cast are angry with Kenya — whether they’re reasonable or not — are ones that we, the viewers, should be thankful for, after a lackluster start to the season.
They're mad at Kenya for... taking a private plane
Is there anything that could go over worse with a group of Housewives than one of them taking a private plane to the cast trip while the rest of them have to drive? Why, yes, there is. Add on that that this happened during a pandemic, when it wasn’t an option for anyone to fly commercial, that the cast member taking the private jet invited one of the Friends Of to fly with her, that she brought along her baby on the PJ while not telling anyone else to bring theirs, and that she initially tried to keep entire private plane thing secret from them.
They're mad at Kenya for... attempting to keep it a secret that she was taking a plane.
Kenya told new Housewife Drew Sidora that she and Friend Of LaToya Ali would be heading to South Carolina on a private plane… and Drew spilled the beans to everyone else before they even left. Thank you, Drew. Obviously, this news was not received with a warm welcome.
They're mad at Kenya for... putting the other women on a van for eight hours.
And that brings us to the fact that all of the other women had to drive from Atlanta to Isle of Palms on a Sprinter van. Not only that, but the air conditioning wasn’t working, and the trip lasted eight hours instead of the five it was supposed to take. To quote our dear Shereé Whitfield, “Hell to the no, to the no, no, no.”
They're mad at Kenya for... bringing her daughter.
Kenya brought her daughter on the cast trip. This upset some of the other Housewives who are also new moms, including Porsha Williams and Drew, because Kenya didn’t tell them ahead of time that she was bringing her baby. This was also a storyline on the most recent season of The Real Housewives of Potomac, when Ashley Darby brought her son on a trip without telling Wendy Osefo, who had also recently welcomed a child. Now, it is officially in the Housewives rule book that you don’t bring your baby on a trip without telling everyone and inviting their babies, too.
Of course, the elephant in the room is that production could’ve filled in the other moms on what Kenya was up to, but that’s another story and one that leads to much less drama.
They're mad at Kenya for... organizing a murder mystery game.
Upon finally arriving to the Isle of Palms house, the women were welcomed to a murder mystery game, and while Kenya actually wanted them to play, they all just wanted to have some drinks and start partying. A reasonable request after eight hours in a van.
They're mad at Kenya for... giving Marlo a bad room.
No one wants to see a Real Housewives cast trip that doesn’t feature drama over sleeping arrangements. It is essential to the show. This time on RHOA, the room drama involved Kenya giving Marlo Hampton the worst room because of their years-long feud. Marlo tried — briefly — to have a heart-to-heart with Kenya about how much it hurt her feelings, but they immediately just started insulting each other again. Some things never change.
They're mad at Kenya for... not feeding everyone lunch.
The women were surprised, but excited, to hear that their first full day in the Isle of Palms didn’t involve any strict plans. These cast trips usually see the cast setting out on a full day of adventures, so getting to just hang out by the pool was welcome. But, like, they did still want to eat. The cast was annoyed when Kenya didn’t even have plans for that. As Marlo put it, “I’m not mad about today being relaxing, but I want to go in the kitchen and eat a goddamn rib. I want to eat a crab leg.” Marlo knows luxury and she expects nothing less. (Even if she is spending this trip sleeping on two couches pushed together.)
They're mad at Kenya for... ordering a crab cake…
And then, it happened. Kenya strolled up to the pool with a takeout bag and revealed she ordered herself — and only herself — a crab cake. Everyone immediately jumped on her as if they hadn’t eaten in days — and with the mimosas they had, it might have felt like that. “If they did not like the food that was in the refrigerator, they could have ordered their own,” Kenya said in her confessional.
...And fries.
Oh, yeah, she got fries, too.
They're mad at Kenya for... stocking the fridge with boring food.
Porsha looked at the fridge food that Kenya had purchased for the house (or that “Kenya” had purchased for the house) and said, “Oh, this is all food we gotta cook, though.” The cast ended up having chips and hummus, along with a few fries that Kenya gave in and handed over.
They're mad at Kenya for... the lack of a vegan entrée at dinner.
Kenya hired a chef to roast a whole pig for dinner and provide a bunch of sides, but one cast member wasn’t so happy. Porsha is vegan, and made that very clear when they all sat down to eat. When she led the blessing, she even said, “I pray over this dead carcass.” Hope the sides were vegan.
They're mad at Kenya for... going to bed early.
After the dead carcass pig dinner, the women were planning to stay up and play a game. But Kenya got her daughter from the nanny who came on the trip and retired to her bedroom. Kandi Burruss went to check on her and said, “You’re just going to up and leave? That’s not cool.” Kenya responded, “Okay, that’s not cool. I’m sorry. I don’t know what you want.”
They're mad at Kenya for... not filming?
And the going to bed situation leads into what any practiced Housewives viewer can only imagine was another issue going on behind the scenes. Kenya getting her daughter and going to bed really meant that she was no longer filming that day with the rest of the women.
When Kandi told the group what was going on, Porsha got upset about her daughter not being on the trip, and pointed out that when they went to Greece last season, her baby came along, "and I never bailed on my friends.” This, of course, could be seen as Porsha saying, even though her baby was there, she never bailed on work.
They're mad at Kenya for... not apologizing correctly.
Kandi and Kenya had a conversation the next day during which Kenya broke down about the fact that she doesn’t have any family or anyone who can help her take care of Brooklyn in Atlanta, while everyone else has “a village” to support them.
After this convo, Kenya decided to apologize to the group for not asking them if they wanted lunch and not telling them she was bringing her daughter. But then she added, “Crab cake po’ boy, girl! It was everything!”
At dinner that night, it came out that many of the women thought her apology wasn’t sincere, that she downplayed the situation, or didn’t even realize she was apologizing.
They're mad at Kenya for... telling the other women to get off their phones.
At the dinner, Kenya got annoyed at a couple of the women for being on their phones during the heated conversation about her questionable apology. This led to some expert passive aggression from Porsha, who said, “No, you can go ahead ... I haven’t said anything this entire conversation,” while continuing to look at her phone. “Go ahead and give them your little sob story.”
They're mad at Kenya for... doubling down on her decision.
At one point, Cynthia Bailey told Kenya, “It would have been nice to let the other women in the group have the option” in regards to bringing their own babies. Kenya responded, “I don’t need to give them the option!” which got everyone momentarily riled up again. This was short-lived. Kenya apologized again.
They're mad at Kenya for... not communicating well.
Drew feels that Kenya is just not good at communication in general and that she can’t form a relationship with her because Kenya came in so defensive. Oh Drew, don’t get your hopes up for a new BFF.
Sunday night’s episode ended with all the appetizers that Tanya Sam ordered literally in the middle of the fight arriving at the table (applause for Tanya on that one), everyone chowing down, and Kandi declaring in her confessional that “We need to change up the mood.” She added, “I have a dick in a box, and it’s called Bolo [the stripper]!” Now we just have to see if everyone finds a way to get mad at Kenya during a raunchy bachelorette party that led to a sex scandal.
Image: Bravo