NeNe Leakes Labeled 'Transphobic' Over Ts Madison Interview, Revealing She Won't Date Men Who Sleep with Trans Women

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes has been widely condemned for comments about men dating trans women during an interview with trans RuPaul’s Drag Race judge, Ts Madison.

via: EW

Real Housewives of Atlanta alum NeNe Leakes has drawn criticism online after a recent conversation with actress, RuPaul's Drag Race judge, and trans media personality Ts Madison saw her reveal that she doesn't want to date a man who sleeps with transgender women.

In the discussion, which occurred as part of an interview on The NeNe Leakes Show talk series, the pair exchanged views on dating, with Leakes asking Madison, "Do you only know gay men?" after the Bros actress asked if Leakes would date someone in Madison's social circle.

"I don't date gay men," Madison clarified, to which Leakes responded, "When you guys be saying that, that's real weird, because what do you mean you don't date gay men? Because if he's sleeping with you and sleeping with a woman, he's something."

Madison clarified that "if a man comes in here and he looks at me and you, well, he likes women," though Leakes pushed back, saying that she felt, in that scenario, it's "because he doesn't know" that a trans woman is trans.

"And if he does know, he likes women," Madison reiterated, prompting Leakes to ask, "What is he? He's bisexual?"

After Madison explained that sexuality also includes pan people, who are interested in all genders, and that many men are pan, Leakes said, "I don't want to run into them, I don't want to date him. I need you to like Hello Kitty, all the time."

Madison reminded Leakes that "there's a possibility in your life that he's been with something" if Leakes has indeed only dated men her entire life. "I know that women consider trans women men because we were born male," Madison continued, "but there's a difference between being a man and male."

Leakes then inquired about Madison's body when she observed, "But you, you have your parts. So, he could love you and think you're so beautiful and want to sleep with you," later asking, "But, does he know it's there?"

"He knows it's there, I'm not hiding it," Madison replied, with Leakes reacting by admitting, "That doesn't make any sense to me."

Leakes again stressed that she wouldn't want to sleep with a man interested in both, because, as she said, "he's not telling me the truth."

Madison said that it's important to "make men comfortable to say they find things [attractive] outside of what society [accepts]," and advised that "all women should be taking" PrEP, a medication that helps prevent HIV.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Leakes and Madison for additional comment.

After Leakes' words drew criticism online, Madison clarified on X that the exchange was not a contentious one, writing, "Fighting with ne ne Leakes? Over MY identity? Two people sittin down discussing attraction and Dating was fighting?…………. Uuuuuh okay," hours after she posted a lengthy explainer elaborating on some of the points she made in the taped interview.

Still, Leakes received pushback on social media.

"Nene Leakes being a transphobic bigot on camera in front of TS Madison just irked my soul. That woman was never for us," one user wrote on X in reaction to the interview, while another added, "Nene wants to maintain a false sense of privilege and refuses to acknowledge that what men are attracted to when they see her, and TS Madison, is the same thing. Femininity doesn't belong exclusively to cisgendered women, and the insecure amongst us can't take that. Trans women are women."

Others defended Leakes, with one user noting that "Nene is allowed to not want a man who loves transwomen," adding that it "doesn’t mean she’s transphobic" if so.

Other comments under the interview on YouTube praised Madison for her willingness to explain things to Leakes: "TS Madison is so patient for explaining and educating NeNe on gender, sexuality, and attraction," said one commenter, with another writing, "She was so patient and nonconfrontational about explaining and educating Nene and us."

Watch Madison's interview on The NeNe Leakes Show below.