Eboni K. Williams isn’t afraid to take the initiative. She is the first Black woman to be cast on Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York City. She is a first-generation college graduate, the first Black lawyer at the first firm she worked for after law school!
The casting of Williams is a milestone in a series repeatedly criticized for not casting women of color for representing New York, one of the most diverse cosmopolitan cities in the world with less than half white population white.
Finally, now, The Real Housewives of New York is going to cast its first black member. It will be a considerable change in the long-going series and a great responsibility for Eboni as well.
Williams spoke,
So when we talk — I talk about diversity and increasing opportunities for black people in this country specifically, it’s really not about like, ‘Oh, it’s the right thing to do…’ I don’t really think that argument works because if that were the case, if people were gonna do what was the right thing to do, it would’ve been done a long time ago. So the argument that I really stick to is it’s good for business. It is good for business to make the pie bigger. It is good for everybody’s bottom line to have an offering of content.
On Yahoo entertainments exclusive show, Paley’s Pop Culture and the Power of Reality TV with Andy Cohen, Williams spoke about the responsibility and pressure she feels joining the franchise’s 13th season. She also mentioned the advice she received from Garcelle Beauvais who was a fellow Bravo star.
'Real Housewives of New York' star Eboni K. Williams on the pressure of being first Black cast member https://t.co/rcoGTsVygg pic.twitter.com/nq60Bi3d3x
— Yahoo Entertainment (@YahooEnt) May 4, 2021
Further adding that the show could have picked up anybody as New York City is filled with many capable black women and women of color. So, for her to be in this position is genuinely a great honor. She also said that she is completely aware of the responsibility that comes with it. She realizes that she’s not just representing herself on the show; instead, she represents black women in totality. And this is the pressure she feels, saying can I be all the black women all the time? Of course, that is not possible, but she says she will strive her best to show New York from a Black person’s perspective.
William is also an attorney and a TV host, while talking, during the show she said, “It’s a distinct honor for me,” while mentioning the racial reckoning happening all over the United States.
She also mentioned how her castmates tiptoed a bit around her color and that it was indeed a non-forgettable moment for the show, noting how her cast was so unique and different. Everybody was comfortable with her presence.
Returning mates this season will be Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, and Leah McSweeney. William expresses that she appreciated how they all managed the situations while filming.
Despite having seen McSweeny lose her temper and getting into a fight last season, Williams says it actually made her more comfortable joining the show as it felt like they could get completely real.
