New RHONY Star Eboni K. Williams Has A Connection To RHOA

Attorney and television host Eboni K. Williams is the newest cast member on The Real Housewives of New York. She made history after becoming the first Black housewife in that particular spinoff of the now sprawling franchise. Housewives producers faced criticism over the years for a lack of diversity within their cast. Aside from Kim Zolciak's time on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, there had never been a full-time Black housewife cast on the primarily white franchises or vice versa. Earlier in 2020, actress Garcelle Beauvais became the first Black housewife cast on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. As the year progressed, and the Black Lives Matter movement heightened, Bravo sought to bring more diversity within their other franchises. 

Now, chosen as a catalyst within the New York franchise, Williams released a statement (via People), saying how ready she is to "keep it just as real here as I do everywhere else." Prior to working as the host and executive producer of Revolt Black News, Williams was a commentator on Fox News and Fox Sports. It was during her time on Fox when she struck up a friendship with Fox Sports 1 host Mike Hill, the husband of RHOA star Cynthia Bailey. It's that friendship that has already given the newest housewife a strong connection with the RHOA cast. 

While discussing their recent pandemic wedding reception, Mike Hill and Cynthia Bailey expressed their joy to welcome Eboni K. Williams to the Housewives family. "Eboni's a friend of mine," Hill shared with People, adding, "So that's great. She's smart, she's articulate. Obviously, she does a lot of shows, she does a lot of broadcast, she's a lawyer. She's going to add a lot to that show." While Hill admitted that he's "never watched that show before," he knows his friend well enough to know that "whatever Eboni does, she adds a lot to it, so she's going to be a great asset."

Before embarking on reality television, Bailey worked as a successful supermodel alongside iconic veterans like Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks. Like many models, Bailey lived in the fashion capital of the world "for many years" during her career, as she told People. Because of her familiarity with the city that never sleeps, particularly how "diverse" it is, Bailey dished to the tab that she "always thought the one thing that was missing from New York was actually having an African-American woman on the show."

So, what can RHONY fans expect from the newest housewife? For anyone who's seen her appearances on Fox News, it's clear that Eboni K. Williams is not afraid to express her views even if the person listening agrees or not — or as Williams put it in her statement (via People), Anyone who's aware of my work knows I don't hold back. The Howard University alum and proud Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority member expressed her excitement to join the franchise and share the Black experience with its viewers. "This franchise historically has not had a Black lens and now it will for the first time in 13 years," she told Essence, adding, "It is my great hope that my presence on this show will just do it justice. Do Black women justice. Do our culture justice. I can only hope to touch on the magic that are Black women."

Williams is set to join returning housewives Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, and Leah McSweeney. As Williams prepares to join the ladies she once watched on television as a fan, she plans on bringing transparency when filming with the OG cast members. "One thing I take very seriously is meeting each one of these women in a real-life, authentic capacity — not bringing any preconceptions [based on] what I may or may not have seen on television before as a viewer or a fan," she told Essence. While many of the housewives have been called out by viewers for not being real or authentic on screen, Williams appears ready to put it all out there with her costars. "These women are now a part of my real life, and a part of my real world, and I welcome all that comes with that. All the ups, all the downs, and all the bumps along the way."