We reported yesterday that TVOne’s hit franchise R&B Divas received the green light for new seasons in both of their respective cities LA & Atlanta. LA, will begin shooting season 2 later this month, and no word on when Atlanta would begin production but the cast changes for the ATL lineup is what had tongues wagging. As of yesterday the only confirmed divas set to return were the shows original ladies Syleena Johnson, Monifah Carter and Keke Wyatt, as well as season 2’s addition Angie Stone. Founding cast members and producers Faith Evans, and Nicci Gilbert and season 2 addition LaTocha Scott were not mentioned.
Although Faith’s departure was no surprise as we told you she exited toward the end of last season, it was unclear whether Nicci was asked not to return or just hadn’t signed her contract as of yet. Gilbert told MadameNoir.com that she indeed chose not to come back for season 3 and even contemplated not coming back after season one due to the heavy backlash she received from fans.
“I actually wasn’t going to come back for season two because there were things that occurred that I wasn’t happy about.”
She also expressed her frustrations due to the fact that she went into the series in the premiere season as its producer with a great amount of creative control, but somehow that changed and the show began to do more harm than good to her image.
Although Gilbert will not be returning, she says she is still receiving compensation in her role as producer and she will partake on the R&B Divas tour tentatively titled ‘Diary of A Diva’, which most of the drama from both season 1 & 2 of Atlanta centered around.
The tour which she says as of now will feature Faith, Keke, and Kelly Price was set to kick off around Thanksgiving but will now be pushed back to Spring she declares:
“It’s not because, oh, ‘nobody wanted to see it.’ There was just a really busy touring schedule in Atlanta. We do have a market, so the tour will happen, it will just be happening in March.”
She also offered some parting words as it pertains to her portrayal on the show and expresses that she has no regrets about things she has said or done, with the exception of her misunderstandings last season with Angie Stone. She says she hopes to clear up the bad blood with Angie soon.
She also advises fans who pegged her as the public enemy on the show, as they now are doing Kelly Price and Dawn Robinson to be more mindful of the way they respond to them:
People need to understand that there’s more to “the truth” and their stories than people get to see. “Try to have an open mind…at the end of the day, reality stars are just doing what they can to feed their families”
What do you think about Nicci leaving the show? Who do you think should replace the missing ladies?
