Earlier this year, NeNe Leakes said she was going to make the “hottest shoes 4 Shoedazzle“. This weekend, the Real Housewife of Atlanta unveiled the “Nethia” shoe for the online shoes, apparel, and accessories ecommerce site.
According to her Twitter page, the launch party was in Atlanta this past Saturday and sponsored by Grey Goose. Her fellow cast members: Cynthia Bailey, Kandi Burruss and Phaedra Parks were there to support (as well as rumored RHOA additions: Kenya Moore and Porsha Stewart).
The caged, lace bootie is part of Shoedazzle ’s Celebrity Shoe Design Program for Charity. The company’s new “give back by giving in” program includes shoes designed by celebrities such as LaLa Anthony and Denise Richards.
StraightfromtheA.com says
100% of the profits from the sale of the “Nethia” will be donated to Saving Our Daughters, an organization that “creates the tools to get teen girls discussing key issues and take the power away from bullying, date abuse, hate crimes, school, violence, violence against women, and other esteem slayers”
If you’re unfamiliar with ShoeDazzle, it started out as a subscription mail order service. Customers would take asurvey about their style and then, based on that, every month ShoeDazzle would create a personalized selection of shoes, handbags and jewelry curated by co-founder Kim Kardashian. Recently, they ditched the famed subscription model in favor of just selling everything on the site for $39.95 and they’re also adding lingerie and dresses.
So, unlike Lebron fans who have to shell out a whopping $300 for a pair of tennis shoes, NeNe’s fans only need 40 bucks and 100% of that money goes toward a great cause.
This shoe launch comes on the heels (pun fully intended) of a glowing profile the Wall Street Journal published about the “sassy, fashion forward, grandma” last week.
In the piece called “A Real Housewife Lands an Outside Gig”, the largest newspaper in the US called NeNe a “snarky quote machine” and talks about her new gig on “The New Normal”. Apparently, it’s difficult for those who find fame under their own names to then get work as fictional characters.
According to WSJ, Ryan Murphy, who co-created “The New Normal” and first cast her as a recurring guest on his hit series “Glee”, initially saw NeNe on Celebrity Apprentice when she quit Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” midshow after getting hostile with fellow contestant Star Jones.
Watching this on TV, Mr. Murphy saw a commanding performance and called Ms. Leakes directly. She says she didn’t know who the producer was, so she ignored him until her manager found out and urged her to return the calls.
She is likely to reprise her role as a hotheaded athletic coach on “Glee” this season. Mr. Murphy offered her the part on “New Normal” via text message.
NeNe said in her memoir that she always wanted to be a “famous actress” and WSJ reports that a year and a half ago, she took on a new manager, Steven Grossman. He told the newspaper that, to boost her crossover appeal they set out to shift the perception of her from “bitchy and mean” to “sassy and confident.”
Looks like that manager was worth his wages. NeNe continues to win no matter what.
Is she paving a path for other reality stars hoping to transition into acting? The WSJ isn’t raising any hopes:
It’s unlikely that her leap into network roles will open the door for other reality TV stars to follow. “A lot of them want to be famous actors; very few people have the talent. NeNe has an exceptional personality,” says Shari Levine, Bravo’s senior vice president of production.
With that exceptional personality comes exceptional success for NeNe.
What do you think of NeNe’s shoe? Are you surprised WSJ had such great things to say about her?
Follow Alissa on Twitter @AlissaInPink
