Riley Burruss's 'Next Gen NYC' Castmate Stereotypes Her

Riley Burruss wasn’t afraid to call out her Next Gen NYC castmate, Charlie Zakkour, on his disrespectful microaggressions during the show’s latest episode, June 17. 

A clip from the new Bravo series, shared on The Neighborhood Talk’s Instagram on Wednesday, showed 22-year-old Burruss, daughter of former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Kandi Burruss, breaking down in tears. She confronted Zakkour, 30, who is white, after he accused her of “accosting” two girls he had met—also white—during a cast outing. The girls had failed to introduce themselves when they first met Riley.

However, Zakkour’s accusation was far from accurate. A flashback of the incident showed Riley, a student at NYU, politely introducing herself after the girls neglected to do so.

“Sorry, I love when my friend’s girls ask my name,” she could be seen saying. 

Riley Burruss Next Gen

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Burruss tried to defend herself further, but her response was shut down by Zakkour, who sarcastically shook his finger, mocking her, a gesture often associated with the stereotype of the angry black woman.  

Frustrated by her castmate’s blatant disrespect, Burruss broke down into tears.

“I’m just so mad because every single time y’all do this. And I try not to make it a thing, but I hate when you try to play this thing like I’m scary or like I’m scaring a random white girl,”  she said tearfully. “It’s a real thing I have to go through everyday…I’m nice to everybody.”

She added, “No, your girls were rude. If you’re around people, you should introduce yourself.”

Zakkour argued, “I don’t know if them being white is relevant…this isn’t a racial thing,” before calling Burruss’ claim “extra,” but the courageous beauty let him know firmly that nothing was “extra” about the way she felt. 

She went on to call out another white castmate, Georgia McCann, for claiming she sounded “scary” when she confronted her about not washing her hands after using the restroom. Georgia admitted that while she felt a bit intimidated at the time, after talking things through with Burruss, she realized Burruss wasn’t trying to offend her, despite her understandably frustrating habit. Unfortunately, she had to revisit the conversation with Zakkour, who still seemed to miss her point. Burruss expressed her frustration, explaining that she hated the narrative being spun about her—specifically, the stereotype of the “scary Black girl”—which was far from the truth.

Fortunately, Mama Kandi stepped in to help ease the tension. Later in the episode, Kandi spoke with a tearful Riley over the phone, offering her support. Kandi reminded her that, while she may be one of the few Black people on the show, she should never hesitate to speak out against microaggressions from her white castmates.

“You have learned how to make friends in all different circles from all walks of life and that’s one thing I’m proud of you about,” the comforting mom told her daughter. “And you’re not afraid to speak up for yourself, which you should not be. He’s going to have to learn to  deal with Black women, and if this is his first lesson then let that be it,” she added. 

Riley handled that like a pro! What did you think of the latest episode of NYC Next Gen? Tell us in the comments section.