LeeAnne Locken quits Real Housewives of Dallas after she was called out for making ‘racist’ comments

Real Housewives of Dallas original cast member LeeAnne Locken has quit the show after four seasons.

The 52-year-old said she had a ‘trolley-slapping good time’ on the Bravo show but wants to refocus on philanthropy, which she said in a statement released to People Magazine, was her ‘main reason for leaving the show.’

However, her departure comes after she was skewered during the January reunion special by her co-stars and host Andy Cohen over several ‘racist’ comments she made during the season.

‘The last four years have been a trolley-slapping good time but after much consideration, I have made the personal decision to step away from RHOD,’ Locken said in her statement.

‘Getting to share my wedding with the viewers last year brought me tremendous joy, however, the season was very personally challenging for me,’ she continued. 

In April, the reality star married Richard Emberlin in an over-the-top wedding with a $4M price tag, which aired on the show in the episode titled My Big Fat Dallas Wedding. 

‘I am looking forward to stepping away from the cameras and spending quality time with my husband and friends, traveling, but most importantly,’ she said in her statement, ‘getting back to philanthropy, which was my main reason for joining the show.’

Adding: ‘Thank you to everyone who has laughed and cried with me along the way. It’s been an amazing journey, and yes my pantyliner is still exhausted. There are so many exciting things on my horizon that I can’t wait to share with you.’

The timing of Locken’s exit from the show came less than two months after the season four reunion special which turned out to be intense for the Dallas star.

Last season, LeeAnne was filmed multiple times calling her costar Kary Brittingham, who was born Guadalajara, Mexico, a ‘Mexican’ and a ‘chirpy Mexican.’ 

Her fellow housewives found her repeated use of the word ‘Mexican’ in the pejorative, to be offensive and Andy Cohen called it a ‘series of errors’.

‘I feel like it’s disgusting. Watching, I’m disappointed,’ Brandi Redmond said during the reunion. ‘I don’t want to be associated. I feel like ashamed and it’s not okay, LeeAnn, it’s not okay. To use that over and over and over again is racism.’

At first she tried to defend herself by saying that she ‘never understood calling someone by their nationality as being something that you could use that label on.’  

‘OK, I apologize,’ she said finally. ‘The very first time in that hallway, I was in a place where I could not articulate well. I didn’t use my words well and I didn’t like it when I watched it. I can tell you that.’

Andy Cohen pressed her, saying ‘there were 10 other occasions’ where she used the slur.

She agreed responding: ‘[Then] the time that I said “chirpy” was really bad too. I agree that was a mistake. I agree that was an error.’

Kary, who was the subject of the offensive comments told the group that she couldn’t even ‘look at her’ during the special and added that LeeAnne had ‘never once apologized to me.’

‘You are a racist, LeeAnn,’ Kary said. ‘You’re referring to me like that, you obviously hated me, maybe because I was from Mexico.’

Trying to defend her actions again, LeeAnne claimed that she was ordered by production not to reach out to Kary after filming wrapped. 

‘Not true! LeeAnne, that’s not true,’ Cohen countered.

He added: ‘The other thing that’s interesting is we’ve been doing interviews for the show for the last few months after you knew that was going to be on there. You kind of doubled-down on your attacks on her in the interviews.’

LeeAnne’s departure from the Housewives family comes amidst a wave of exits from the show. 

Most recently, Danielle Staub announced she was leaving RHONJ and prior to that, both Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge revealed they were each leaving RHOC and Bethenny Frankel announced she was quitting the New York franchise.