The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss is coming to the defense of co-star Apollo Nida, claiming race factored into his long prison sentence.
Currently behind bars after pleading guilty to fraud, Nida says he has done wrong and will do the time for his crime. But Kandi says he’ll do too much.
She took to her Bravo blog to voice this opinion, and did not hold back.
Burruss, who made similar claims on The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 7 Episode 1, ripped the “justice system” for being “harder on black men.”
“Some people felt that I was pulling the race card,” she wrote. “I don’t want you to think that I feel like Apollo only went to jail because he was black.”
“That was not was I was saying. I definitely feel that if you break the law, you should go to jail and do your time for the crime, no matter what color you are.”
“BUT,” Kandi says, Apollo’s case his home because “I feel like a lot of black men who have committed non-violent crimes get longer sentences than needed.”
“For example, I have a family member who committed a non-violent crime and got 13 years in prison,” she continued. “There has to be a better way.”
“He did his time, then he came home, and after a few years he committed another non-violent crime and now he’s serving over 20 years in prison.”
“There are murderers and rapists who have gotten less time. When a man comes home with felonies on his record, a lot of times he can’t get a good job.”
“So I just feel like it creates a cycle of repeat offenders. This is just my opinion.”
Indeed, Nida’s case has torn apart his family, as the Phaedra Parks and Apollo Nida divorce makes clear, and Burruss said she’s found herself in the middle of it.
“Phaedra [assumes] I’m siding with Apollo, which isn’t true,” she said. “Todd and Apollo became pretty good friends, so I would say he takes Apollo’s side a lot.”
“Todd and I have serious debates over their issues. At the end of the day Phaedra is my girl,” she insisted. “I’m always going to be honest with her about what I think.”
“It’s not because I’m taking anyone’s side against her. Never! It sucks when two people that you really like are going through something as crazy as this.”
As you know if you watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta online, the fallout from Apollo and Phaedra’s turmoil was widely felt outside of their own family.
As a close friend, Phaedra can attest to this and then some.
“I’ve always heard that when a married couple goes through a divorce the people close to them end up going through the divorce with them,” she adds.
“I never understood what that meant before, but I do now.”