The newest star of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' speaks with ET about auditioning for her dream job on the ABC talk show.
Eboni K. Williams has her sights set on expanding her TV resumé. The newest star of The Real Housewives of New York City hopes to also snag a permanent seat at The View's iconic table. She sat in as a guest co-host two days this week, part of the daytime talker's rotating audition process as it seeks a full-time replacement for Meghan McCain.
"It was an amazing two days. It was kinda like your birthday for two days in a row," the lawyer turned TV personality tells ET of her guest-hosting stint. "It was amazing."
"It's the dream job, it is," Eboni gushes. "Ever since I was 12 years old, and I always wanted to be an attorney, so seeing Star Jones in that seat and showing what one could do on a national platform, with that background of law and social justice, integrating it with politics and pop culture, from a woman's perspective, it was an honor."
Eboni says she's viewing the guest stint as an official audition for the slot. "The goal, you know, like any other job audition, or interview, right? Do well enough to be invited back," she remarks. "So, that's my prayer."
ET spoke with Eboni on the red carpet at the launch party for Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of The Real Housewives From the People Who Lived It. Should she land the "dream job" at The View, she would also like to keep a hold of her Housewife status -- and according to Eboni, that's actually something the bosses at ABC are interested in, too.
"I would not choose," she admits. "And I will tell you, from inside The View conversation, they would be extremely supportive of me bringing my experience as a Housewife. That's a very unique experience that is culturally relevant. I mean, the very first 'Hot Topic' we discussed on The View is that Washington Post article about, what does reality TV owe Black women? So, I think the opportunity for cross amplification is massive and my dream is to do both."
That means, RHONY cameras could potentially go behind the scenes at The View to capture what really goes down with the co-hosts of one of daytime's most talked-about series. "Honey! That's the show, baby!" Eboni proclaims.
Of course, this all hinges on Eboni returning to RHONY at all. The series is hanging at a bit of a fork after season 13, the COVID-produced season that left fans less than thrilled. While Eboni wouldn't/couldn't say whether she'll be back, she did offer up this: "I've got unfinished business, I'll say that."
That unfinished business is in part due to the fact that, for the first time in Real Housewives history, there was no reunion taping. Seasons traditionally end with an all-cast sit-down to hash out the season that was, and Eboni missed out on what would've been her first.
"The main thing that I wanted to do was have a conversation with [Luann de Lesseps]," Eboni admits. She's been vocal about feeling abandoned by Luann, saying the "Money Can't Buy You Class" singer is the only cast member she didn't hear from as the show aired. It was a tense time for Eboni, as she faced backlash from the audience for bringing important discussions centered around race to TV, which led to some uncomfortable moments with her co-stars -- Lu included.
"What I can say, happily, we have had a conversation since," Eboni reveals. "So, while we did not have a televised reunion -- I still think that was a missed opportunity -- I have talked to my friend, Lu, and we're in a good place. ... We had a good coffee sit-down, and it was productive and it was honest."
Luann, Ramona Singer and Leah McSweeney were all on hand for the Bravo event on Tuesday night, which could have led to some awkward interactions had those off-camera conversations not happened. Eboni was actually ready to have a chat with Leah at the party, seeing as the two had not been in communication as much of late. Fan pages on Instagram picked up on the fact that the pair didn't seem to be hanging out as much as they were in the early days of RHONY airing, with even Leah telling ET on the carpet, "I haven't seen her, haven't heard too much from her" since the show finished its run.
"That's true, I have been away internationally," Eboni confesses. "I look forward to talking to my friend, Leah, tonight, though. I mean, there's never love lost between me and Leah. We just, we used to talk two or three times a day, and I think that... you know how friendships are. They ebb and they flow. It's nothing controversial. It's more circumstantial."
Not All Diamonds and Rosé is available now, wherever books are sold.
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