Former The Real Housewives franchise producer Carlos King took to YouTube to share his perspective on the heated argument that almost turned physical between Atlanta stars, Kandi Burruss and Marlo Hampton. The fight began after Burruss received word that Hampton took issue with how she handled the murder of her nephew, Quinten, who worked at Burruss’ restaurant at the time of his death in 2020. King expressed the opinion that the sensitive issue was unjustly resurfaced as a ploy to set off Burruss and create a headline-worthy moment for the Bravo reality series.

The episode revealed previously unseen footage from 2020 that showed Burruss giving her condolences to Hampton shortly after the tragedy took place. At the time, she failed to make it known to Burruss that she felt she didn’t do enough to support her in her grieving process as a friend or as Quinten’s employer. The issue hadn’t been discussed on camera since, which led King to believe that the interaction was pre-planned to stir up drama on Hampton and the production’s part.

Carlos King Says Marlo Hampton is Creating Beef For a Storyline…and She’s Failing

“Marlo’s grief belongs to her, and it’s not any of our jobs to dictate when or when she should not get over something,” King said in a video posted to YouTube, “… Now, based on everything that was presented tonight, I don’t think Kandi did anything wrong.”

He said that although Burruss did employee Hampton’s nephew, she doesn’t bear responsibility for what happened to him outside of work. Therefore, Hampton’s argument that Burruss should’ve been financially involved in the funeral proceedings is not only disingenuous, but confusing.

King said it seemed like producers were looking for “low-hanging fruit” to use against Burruss. He also added that many of her cast mates are more than willing to throw Burruss under the bus because they’re allegedly unhappy with how much money she makes off the show — and that Burruss doesn’t bring enough consistent drama to earn so much. “Based on my expertise as the king of reality television, I’m telling y’all they’re grasping at straws because everybody wants to see Kandi activated. I don’t want to see her activated over her grief,” the former producer said.

King added that RHOA and its sister shows aren’t meant to be dark, and taking the drama to such a serious place isn’t what fans want, or what Burruss should reasonably expect to happen during filming. He cited examples like Nene Leakes leaving when Burruss was late for their trip to Savannah, GA in Season 6 and the shade that followed as an example of the kind of low-stakes arguments the show is known and loved for. This topic, on the other hand, was way over the line.

He added that the preview for next week’s episode doesn’t give him the impression that the remainder of the season will go in a direction that he can enjoy as a viewer, but he hopes he’s incorrect in that assessment and that The Real Housewives of Atlanta will find a way to correct this incident moving forward.