A PORSHA-FIED Exclusive with PEOPLE's Dave Quinn

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Welcome to Reality with the King. It's me Carlos Kings, the King of Reality TV and one of the most sought after executive producers in reality television with over ten years a production experience. Twice a week on Reality with the King, we'll sit down with my friends across the entertainment industry, recap our favorite reality shows and revisit unforgetable moments that we are still talking and tweeting about. Hey, rain drops on today's episode of Reality with the King. Okay, I know where I was when JR. Got shot on Dallas. I know where I was when Beyonce dropped her surprise album. I know where I was when Kimberle kardash shams on the cover of another magazine breaking the Internet bench.

00:00:55
Speaker 2: I know where I was with Dave Quinn Creative directed the digital cover that is leaving all of us gagging of Porsche Williams formerly Porsche Garbadia serving Angela Baca Tee waiting to excel character Honey with the cover of People Magazine cop this.

00:01:21
Speaker 3: Now People Magazine cover.

00:01:23
Speaker 1: Star Porsche Williams is ready to exhale. We have to talk to the journalist. Hey, Porsche pun attended Dave Quinn Concait, Honey, Carlos, I am.

00:01:37
Speaker 4: So thrilled that this is out and that you love it so much. Thank you so much for your kindness and for having me here. As always my favorite person to talk to.

00:01:46
Speaker 1: You not only have been my favorite person for so many years. What you have done CRUs while you are a pop culture not only enthusia, is but an icon in the journalist world. It we Okay, before we get into the details of the article where Porsche is set free.

00:02:10
Speaker 3: She's finally divorced. There's so much to.

00:02:13
Speaker 1: Break down with that, but Honey, bunty pudding Pie, we have to break down and listen. I am somebody who used to work at Kentucky for our chicken, making five dollars and fifty cents an hour, and when my paycheck came every two weeks, Honey, I would save money to buy People magazine. So I am somebody that I want this cover in my home day who came up with this idea of having Porsche be Angela Bass's character and waiting to ex Hell.

00:02:51
Speaker 4: Listen, I say this humbly. This was all my idea. But listen, and here's why. Because we're talking to Porsha Williams. The concept of the story comes around She's gone through this really difficult divorce. It's her first time that she's going to be able to freely kind of speak about it. What do we do visually to capture that? And you know, decades before Porsche was making names on the Internet, and decades before it became one of the most infamous memes on the Internet itself, of this iconic meme of female empowerment, waiting to exhale was a cultural reset. You know. The nineteen ninety five film, adapted from Terry McMillan's best selling novel, really gave voice to grief, resilience, self renewal, of black women navigating love and loss on their own terms. It offered this vision of healing, of heartbreak, of self discovery, of someone stepping into their own power. And I just thought it was so important that if we were going to look at Porsche as an example of what I consider to be black excellence in reality TV, why not carry her with something else that I really believe in the culture is the ultimate example of black excellence, of empowerment, of strength. So I wanted to frame her in these photos as not someone who was a victim, not someone who was centering herself in the image of a man. That was really important to me that she's her own woman and that we're really celebrating where she is at this place in her life, which is she's gone squarest man. She has stepped through that fire and she is really now rebirthing herself as a stronger, more powerful woman than ever before.

00:04:37
Speaker 1: I mean, the character that Angela Basta play, which is Bernadine Harris, is somebody that is infamously known with the car blow up scene, with being in the core. So talk to us about the images, because not only did you guys recreate the iconic scene where Bernardine Harris, played by Angela Bassett, blew up the from her ex husband, you guys also did a lot of iconic moments from the movie itself. So can you talk us through some of those creative concepts as well.

00:05:11
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was funny. We were really thinking full scale here, right. Originally I was just like, we got to have her with the car scene, mimicking that incredible meme that we all know and love so well, and from there that sort of became the blueprint to what else can we do? To make it make sense and to sort of fill it all out. So we did that scene where Brendadette's in the mirror, she's sort of brushing her hair and her husband comes in to tell her that he's leaving her, and that sort of she has that moment of realization that it's all over. We did that scene. We did the scene in the courtroom where she sort of has her victory and has her justice, and it was great. I mean, we built all of this in a beautiful house in Atlanta, all of these incredible sets. The courtroom was built in like the corner of someone's living room essentially, and with porschaucked in and saw it, she said, I need a core room in my house. Like it was hilarious. And we also wanted to color that with other scenes that we believe were sort of mimicking the experience that Porch has been going through in her own life. So we built a scene that was really about her, you know, her empowerment in business, her owning Go Naked Hair, shout out Go Naked Hair, her pampered by Porsche, her pursuit of Porsche book, and sort of how she's focused on business and that's really done that and also how she's juggling all this as a mom. We got Polar on set and really did a great shot with Poar and I have to tell you, Carlos, of all the divas in the room that day, myself included, Polar was the one.

00:06:49
Speaker 3: Oh really, what was the giving she came with?

00:06:52
Speaker 4: She came with a writer. She said, I want donuts when I'm done, and there were donuts available for her when she was nothing. She knew what she wanted and she was such a joy. It was really fun to see Portrait in that motherhood moment and she's the sweetest girl. She's so so so. Yeah, we got to kind of do it all, but it was really fun, and afterwards Portrait said something. We sat down for our interview afterwards and talked for an hour, and she said, y'all really took me through it, like you took me through mimicking all of these setups for waiting to exhale really allowed her to process what she's been going through for the past year in the span of a day.

00:07:34
Speaker 1: Child, We are just getting started. This is reality with the King, and I'm Carlos King. Let's get back into the show.

00:07:53
Speaker 3: So let's get into that.

00:07:55
Speaker 1: Because for a housewive to get the cover story of the prestigious people Mad magazine. Like I said, I grew up on this magazine. Everybody from Jennifer Aniston to Halle Berry to Beyonce has graced the cover of this magazine. So to have Portia Williams do that, I know the article itself must be juicy. So what sort of tidbits did she give you day that we are looking forward to reading in this issue.

00:08:25
Speaker 4: Well, what I was really excited about when we built this digital cover is it gives a lot of freedom. You know, print covers are sort of sometimes limited by space, but we had so much room here to sort of grow and tell a full story. And we really talked about how she feels about this divorce, what got her to the point where she felt she needed to say goodbye. And it was interesting because a lot of what she said she couldn't say on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She talked about the fact that filming this season because they were still going through proceedings, because she wasn't filming in her home because he was slapping her with defamation suits, and you know, they were in the midst of this really contentious divorce, there was a lot that she couldn't talk about, and now she really spills, She really lets it out. What was it that made her want to get out of this marriage? That from? I mean you and I I remember where we were. Also, when Portia announced that she was getting divorced, it was a shock to all of us because this looked like the happiest marriage of all time. So yeah, it really allowed her the space to talk.

00:09:35
Speaker 3: Did she talk to you?

00:09:37
Speaker 1: Because I do remember where we were when the divorce was announced And obviously Dave Kremp broke that exclusive too, and I'm like, dam.

00:09:45
Speaker 3: It was going on here girl, Like what's happening?

00:09:47
Speaker 1: But what did Portia tell you about what led up to the moment of her deciding to file? Because it was something she thought about for months or weeks or was it for days before she filed.

00:10:06
Speaker 4: It really feels like this was something that she had seen signs of and decided I have to go. She knew when it was time to pull the trigger. She talks about Valentine's Day then having an argument and seeing a look on his face where she just knew it was done. You know, I asked her, how do you see the red flags? And she laughed, She's like, you're asking me, like, I don't see the red flags. I see you know, I always joke red flags in the shape of hearts, right, and she but she's learned through the experience she had with Cordel, through other experiences, that she needed to sort of take control. She talks about how she was blindsided by the Cordel divorce, but in this case, she was not going to be blindsided. She was going to step into her power and make those decisions for herself, and she really protected herself along the way to do those things.

00:11:01
Speaker 3: I do want to get No, no, no, it's.

00:11:04
Speaker 4: It's a very different Porsche than we've seen before, is what I was gonna say.

00:11:09
Speaker 3: No, And I was gonna say that as well.

00:11:12
Speaker 1: In the sense of what we saw what she went through during season six, and I was the showrunner for that season, we saw the steps in terms of what she did not do when she decided to marry Cordell.

00:11:26
Speaker 3: She did sign a prenup.

00:11:28
Speaker 1: She pretty much, for all autism purposes, had no rights essentially during that marriage. This is her second one, and what we have learned is she did have a prenup that sort of worked in her favor. Can you talk to us about the new Porsche that was getting married for the second time and some of the smart things she decided to do this go around.

00:11:55
Speaker 4: Yeah, that prenup is the smartest thing she decided to do this go around, made sure that she was legally where she needed to be, and that preenop is ultimately what got en forced. You know, the ruling that was decided on by the judge just on June eleventh, so very recently sided in her favor. And it's because of that that she gets to keep the house. It's because of that that she gets to sort of be in a place of peace with a lot of the contentious things that Simon's been going after her over. I also think that the thing that she did differently this time around is she's still grieving right now. She's very upset, but she seems to have found a way to separate her mind from her emotion. She made choices that were not driven by emotion, but by driven by protecting herself and being very clear headed about that. And it's only now talking to her that she's really grieving a lot of the things that are, you know, are the natural feelings that one gets at the loss of a relationship, you know. She says to me that she's really not ready yet to date other men, that people try to set her up and she just doesn't feel like she's there. She doesn't feel like she can trust men again right now. She says that she's really focusing on giving all that love that she gives to men that she loves giving in a relationship. She loves being the protector, the provider, the one who's going to cook your favorite meal, who's going to address you right, who's going to take care of you. She loves doing that, and she's now focusing that on herself, which I've been candid with you. It's been two years since I've been single and I'm still learning to do that. So to hear her talk about it was really inspiring to me to remind myself that we all need to be doing that for ourselves. But Carlos, ultimately, I think the thing that you find about Portia is that she recognizes that this season on Housewives, she wasn't herself. She was like, I went through that was the biggest shell for me. But she went through this season as a shell of a person. She says, She's like, I would go to work and just I don't even know who that person is. She watches the show and she has no concept for sort of how she was acting or what she was feeling. And it gives a lot of context in my perspective to the ongoing conflict she's having with Shemiah, because I feel as though Shmiah is a person who was very present and Porsha just was not. We all interpreted. I think a lot of the fans have interpreted as jealousy or as you know, feeling a certain way about holding the center peach and things like that, and how the season was going. I think that Porsha was just lost. I think she was just from what she says in the midst of hell and was clocking into work, going through the motions.

00:14:52
Speaker 1: Which is so interesting to me because what we're seeing this season on the show is a woman who decided to return back to the show after three year hiatus, and she said yes to returning while she was married and supposedly, just based on what we have seen, was in a good place at her marriage. Again, on all the details, did she explained to you if she had any regrets coming back to the show, because when she came back, she thought she would be coming back as a married woman.

00:15:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, we talked, Actually, we honestly talked a little bit candidly behind the scenes about it. Wasn't necessarily part of my focus for the interview because I was much more interested in her reclaiming herself as as a woman after this sort of emotional loss than it was about her return to the show. But she very candidly said, remember, I was coming back to the show as Portia Gubadia. Porsha Williams wasn't coming back. It was Porsia Gubadia. That's how she announced it, and then it wasn't. I think that she's in a place now from our conversations where she's really excited to go back to filming and do it again because she's sort of gotten now the the ability to take a deep breath. I didn't realize until she really explained it to me how difficult it was to film an entire season not being in your house. And we've seen other housewives do this before, you know, we've seen plenty of housewives not film at their home. But the fact that she wasn't allowed to. She didn't really have that center thing holding her to the ground, so she felt like she wasn't able to really show who she was.

00:16:39
Speaker 1: Which makes a lot of sense because everybody's home is their sanctuary, it's your safe space. So the fact that I mean, I didn't think about that as well, where you're not even able to be in your safe haven doing the job that you love, but also a job that is intense because you have to talk about uncomfortable things. I didn't realize that until you said today. That is another sort of like mind fuck when you're shooting a reality show and the reality is I cannot film in my house. So one thing we do know is she her divorce is final. She did get award a lot of things in her prenuptial agreement. She said to you, she's not yet there in terms of dating. She's figured things out. You have covered Porsia since the inception of her on the show season five. What was your takeaway based on this interview and you being around her. Do you feel like Porscha is the black j Lo, the black list Taylor to where she's not ready today but she's a hopeless romantic or do you think Porsche is somebody who is relearning who she is, and there's a more stronger version of Porsche in the sense of dealing with the aftermath of this divorce that we will see next season on Housewives.

00:18:03
Speaker 4: Honestly, Carlos, I think both. I'm not going to put that label on her, I'll tell I'll say that I think that she's the Jennifer Lopeze Bravo because she does sort of have like that fullhearted, like hopeless, romantic, wants to be in love thing, and that's still inside of her. I did ask her if she's getting married again, and she's like, yeah, I would do it. You know, she's not closed that she wants to be a wife again. So that's very much still a part of who Portia is, and that, in that sense, lies I think with j Loo. I mean, the thing I love the most about her is that she loves so deeply and so hardly. You know, she goes all in on her things. But I do think there's a lot of strength and wisdom that she's going beamed. Just like you said, she's elevating herself in a way, she's really learning from it because she could have been sitting there saying, f this, dude, I'm out of here, you know what I mean, Like I deserve better, I'm dating this guy. I'm dating that guy. But that's not what she was saying. I mean, she was really saying, I took stock. What did I do to cause this? What role did I play in the end of this? How do I make better choices going forward? How can I learn to love myself right now so I can give to somebody and not give all of myself and giving different ways. I mean, this was stuff that was very different than I think we've seen before from her. And even at the end of the chat was she tried a lot. I messed those make I folded her a canvas stiller, bass at, crying goal, patitant, but made sure that she got what she needed. But no, I mean, she really opened up a lot, and she said after the end that she was glad that the interview wasn't about saying mean things about another person, that it was about really owning who she is. And in that moment, I was really proud of that myself. I just think you know this from working with her. Portia is somebody who has this amazing charisma and she has the ability. When she is in a good mood, everybody is in a good mood. She is so kind and loving and warm and fun and funny. But when she's hurting, you all feel that too. She can really dictate the temperature of her room, and it was great to have her in a place where I think she felt safe and comfortable to both be open and emotional and still have fun with it. She brought champagne for the entire crew.

00:20:30
Speaker 3: I've never seen anybody in my years and years and years.

00:20:33
Speaker 4: In the business, I've never seen a single celebrity end the day by celebrating everyone there with a toast.

00:20:41
Speaker 3: That says a lot for who she is. Yeah, it really does. And listen, it says a lot for who you are.

00:20:46
Speaker 1: The fact that you were able to get the exclusive interview with her, pulse her divorce and to be able to give her an iconic cover that she deserves. Dave Quinn, where can't people pick up this magating? What can I go find it? Because I do want people to still read the article, Because listen, Dave Quinn is an amazing journalist, and to know that he got the exclusive post Porsche signed off divorce means we are in.

00:21:14
Speaker 4: For a treat and it was great because we've we shot all this before Reunion even films, so I'm excited to watch Reunion to see what comes after that. We also got to talk to her from the set of The Traders, where you know that she's film next season of The Traders, because we had a follow up conversation with her afterwards, and I said to her, I said, Porsia, I know you're playing a game right now, but I'm glad to hear you already won. She got that win in right before. Yeah, we worked in her in her divorce, but we chatted from there. So it's it's gonna be a lot of fun for fantasy. The stories out right now. You can click on People dot com and find it all on our socials and our issue will be a newstands this Friday.

00:22:06
Speaker 1: A man to that another exclusive from the amazing Deve Quinn over at People Magazine. Rain Droffs, make sure you're on People dot com to read the article and on Friday listen journalism is still alive and start a magazine, So please pick up the magazine on newsstands wherever you're able to get them.

00:22:25
Speaker 3: I am getting me a.

00:22:27
Speaker 1: Hard copy that I want to frame because that I mean seriously, that I kind of cover gave me chills and I screamed so loud when I saw it. Sotos Kutos an amazing magazine. Listen more to come from you guys, great stuff.

00:22:46
Speaker 4: Thank you so much, Carlos. Now, but we can we just can we talk for a second because I want to. I have a lot of questions for you. I want to know.

00:22:54
Speaker 3: I've got so many questions.

00:22:55
Speaker 4: We need to catch up.

00:22:56
Speaker 3: We do need to catch up. Call me.

00:23:00
Speaker 4: I want to know what you think about Candace Dillard and pors being back together on Traders like no.

00:23:08
Speaker 3: But all just aside. Listen Canvas being on.

00:23:13
Speaker 1: Traders with Porsche when they both did Ultimate Girls Trip before. I can't wait to see what goes on there because that Canvas Honey is not want to play with, so to see who is zooming who between her and Porsche, I can't wait. And I am so happy that Porsche decided to do Traders because it just goes to show you the profile of hers that is elevating, and they got somebody who's not only great TV. Porsche's no dummy, but that Kansasidy is savvy too.

00:23:52
Speaker 4: Well, wait, do you think either of them will be a trader.

00:23:55
Speaker 3: I don't see Canvas being a trader.

00:23:57
Speaker 1: I can see Porsche pulling it off because Frick and Frack, because you know, Phaser was one, so I can see that happening too.

00:24:06
Speaker 3: Portia.

00:24:08
Speaker 4: I rooting for Candas to be a trader just because I think she her talking heads are so funny. I don't just I want real good trader confessionals. And I think Phaedra was such a beautiful example of that, of how good it is on that show, So I'm sort of hoping for that. I mean, Mamma, Kelsey hain't gonna be a trader, you know what I mean. Like, it's gotta be someone attitude. It's gotta be someone who can give it up. And I feel like, well, yes, go ahead. I feel like Candace can give it up.

00:24:38
Speaker 3: Though I worry.

00:24:39
Speaker 4: I don't think she's I don't think the chess moves are there that you have to have. But she could be a fun burnout, you know what I mean. She can go out sweat.

00:24:49
Speaker 5: She'd be like I don't like you, You're dead. Like its good, in which case Portia better be careful. Oh baby, Portia has a. I have a live her life money, so I will just happened.

00:25:04
Speaker 3: She will be just fine.

00:25:06
Speaker 1: But no, I'm so happy those two are are doing Traders and listen, talk about another epic season of that show.

00:25:15
Speaker 4: It's gonna be great. And as I as I said to somebody who's on it this season, I'll remain meanless. I said, welcome to any winning show.

00:25:26
Speaker 1: But we also have to talk about, to your point, any winning soap opera world, Lisa Rena.

00:25:33
Speaker 4: Girl, you and I love Lisa Rena so much. The Lisa Renna apologists of the world are here to celebrate and scream. She is gonna be so good.

00:25:45
Speaker 3: I'm so excited that she's back.

00:25:48
Speaker 4: I mean yes, that for me, Lisa Renna being cast on that show, that was the best pride gift I could ever get. Thank you. We are celebrating.

00:26:00
Speaker 1: So that that alone got my like Antenna's running in terms of like cause, listen, no one is better television. No one is better at being a force multiplier in scenes that needs a little push of anomelope than Lisa Renna. And by her being an actress a great one at that soap opera.

00:26:25
Speaker 3: Daytime in me like amazing casting for Lisa Renna.

00:26:29
Speaker 4: Yeah, she's She is definitely the headline for me. I'm thrilled that she's back in the mix. And I'm also thrilled to see how she interacts with people like poor Show, people like Candice, people like Derinda who I don't know I can see, I mean, Dorenda and Caroline Stanbury will be in good place, but like because they're good friends. But I don't know how she's just gonna do with Lisa Rena.

00:26:51
Speaker 1: Lisa Renna versus Derenda is the mussy TV of the year, Are you kidding me? Random versus Lisa render two women who do not hold back and don't give two f's.

00:27:05
Speaker 3: Let it go. That's your next cover, honey, that's your next cover.

00:27:09
Speaker 4: That's an excover. Will recreate something like what film will we recreate? We'll find something real good over Board by Goldie Hon I'm well, death becomes sir with Lisa.

00:27:26
Speaker 3: Listen. I love it, I love it, I love you, I love you.

00:27:30
Speaker 4: Thank you for having me so great catching up?

00:27:32
Speaker 3: No, thank you and I'll see you soon.

00:27:34
Speaker 4: All right, fine, thank you for.

00:27:39
Speaker 3: Listening to Reality with the Kings.

00:27:41
Speaker 1: New episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Share, comment, follow and subscribe to Reality with the King.

00:27:50
Speaker 3: Wherever you get to your podcast.

00:27:52
Speaker 1: Visit Reality withthe King dot com and be sure to follow me at the Carlos King Underscore on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Yes Baby, my YouTube channel where you could get all of my visuals, Baby, my expressions, Yes, and don't forget. Tweet me your thoughts and hot takes about this episode using the hashtag Reality with the King. Reality with the King is a production of Kingdom Rain Entertainment, an executive produced by me Carlos King, Kingdom Rain Entertainment, Baby