NeNe Leakes says she wanted to drop the hammer on the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" years ago ... but the execs blacklisted her, making it extremely difficult to take any legal action.
We got NeNe at LAX Monday, and she says getting constantly silenced by Bravo stopped her from filing her discrimination lawsuit for a long time.
She tells us she went from working constantly to getting nothing ... fans of the show know NeNe was the centerpiece of "RHOA" for years, before leaving in 2020.
She's hoping her lawsuit will help put an end to discrimination against Black women ... and thinks getting called out as a Black woman with blonde hair is grossly unacceptable.
As we reported, NeNe recently filed in federal court in Atlanta, accusing the folks behind the show of ignoring her complaints about years of racist remarks directed her way by fellow cast member Kim Zolciak-Biermann.
In the docs, NeNe claims Kim, who is not being sued, made racially offensive and stereotypical comments about NeNe and Kandi Burruss over multiple seasons.
She claims she complained about Kim's alleged comments to the execs behind "RHOA," but says Kim wasn't punished and was instead rewarded with her own spinoff series.
The docs say those behind 'RHOA' violated federal employment and anti-discrimination law ... and are going after them for damages. The timing of the suit is interesting -- NeNe hinted back in November she would return to the show, as long as some changes were made.