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        <title><![CDATA[Leah McSweeney wants more diversity on ‘RHONY’]]></title>
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            <media:title type="html">Leah McSweeney wants more diversity on ‘RHONY’</media:title>
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        <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Leah McSweeney is ready for change — and she wants it to start in the Big Apple.</p><p>The newest &#8220;Real Housewives of New York&#8221; star, 37, has been <strong>actively protesting with the Black Lives Matter movement</strong> and is part of Bravo&#8217;s special&nbsp;<strong>&#8220;Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment&#8221;</strong> airing Sunday. But she thinks there&#8217;s more that can be done on the network — especially on her show.</p><p>&#8220;I hope that there’s not only diversity of race, but an even deeper diversity of where someone lives or what their interests are,&#8221; McSweeney told Page Six. &#8220;I hope that there’s just more diversity all across the board because New Yorkers are not a monolith, obviously. I think that it is gonna head in that direction.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;RHONY&#8221; has <strong>been criticized</strong> in the past for its lack of women of color in the cast.</p><p><strong><noscript><img data- data-src="/uploads/2020/08/RIA_KeyArt_Horiz.jpg" class="lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img  data-src="/uploads/2020/08/RIA_KeyArt_Horiz.jpg" /></noscript></noscript><img class="lazyload" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20210%20140%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data- data-src="/uploads/2020/08/RIA_KeyArt_Horiz.jpg" /></strong></p><p>The Married to the Mob founder said much of the information in the special didn&#8217;t come as a shock to her.</p><p>&#8220;I have a lot of black friends, and I hear a lot of stories from them about racism and the s&#8211;t they have to deal with,&#8221; she told us. &#8220;But it never stops being shocking and appalling to hear someone’s personal stories, you know?&#8221;</p><p>She recalled how Garcelle Beauvais, the first black cast member on &#8220;RHOBH,&#8221; spoke on the special about &#8220;going into a store and they said, ‘Oh, why don’t you look at these? These are like, less expensive items.&#8217; It is never not shocking to me.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I think it’s so hard for a lot of white people to understand and to even process it because it’s something we’re not used to dealing with,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I walk into a store, people think that I’m gonna shop my ass off because I’m white. They’re not thinking that I’m going to steal something or that I can’t afford something. That’s what my black friends have to deal with.&#8221;</p><p>McSweeney was, however, surprised when &#8220;RHOA&#8221; star Portia Williams said that people once thought she was the dog walker. &#8220;I’ve never seen a dog walker look like Portia, have you? I mean, she’s, like, very glamorous, very sexy. I don’t know what kind of dog walker looks like that.&#8221;</p><p>McSweeney hopes the special will move people to become allies, even though she doesn&#8217;t really like that term.</p><p>&#8220;When we’re talking about race and racism — why do we even have the word &#8216;ally?&#8217;&#8221; she wondered. &#8220;This is an everyone problem. &#8216;Ally&#8217; shouldn’t even be a thing. Everyone should be against racism, no matter what freaking color you are, no matter where you’re from. It’s truly a very evil idea, racism in general. So it should be, across the board, completely looked down upon and destroyed.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;In terms of being an ally,&#8221; she added, &#8220;I think it’s just like, acknowledging racism exists. That’s the other thing&nbsp; — people who say, ‘I don’t see color.’ I’m like, stop. Come on. That’s insane to say. I understand that’s a white person wanting to sound like they’re saying the right thing — it’s actually not the right thing to say — but they have good intentions.&#8221;</p><p>But she says, &#8220;We also need to draw a line where someone says something and it’s clearly a mistake, right? Or [we need to ask ourselves], can they learn from it? So we have to see things in a nuanced way as well &#8230; I think, as uncomfortable as the discussion can be, people need to be able to feel like they can discuss it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment,&#8221; produced by Dorothy Toran and Leslie Farrell of Lauren Grace Media, airs Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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