The reality TV star also speaks with ET about being missed by fans on 'Real Housewives of Atlanta.'
Porsha Williams thinks Bethenny Frankel's call for a reality TV star strike has some real merit.
Williams spoke with ET about her Fox celebrity competition series, Stars on Mars, and also addressed recent remarks made by Frankel about the possibility of reality stars unionizing and striking to demand better contracts and to stand with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA/WGA strikes.
"I can respect a lot of what Bethenny had to say, actually. I mean, why would I have any problem with her speaking up for reality stars?" Williams shared. "I just would want some of the reality stars who are currently doing that job to speak up."
"But I don't know if that’s gonna happen, because the sad part about it is when you are signed to those contracts, when you have signed away your likeness, you are fighting an uphill battle, while being famous," the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum explained. "Some people who are smart are trying to build a brand like Bethenny, trying to build a brand like me, and it's hard to see your way out of that, because [on] some of the shows, the drama is about your bad points."
As Williams pointed out, being a cast member on a show in The Real Housewives franchise -- or any reality series, for the most part -- means your narrative can be decided in the editing room, and any brand you're trying to build can be hurt if producers want you to be a villain for the season.
According to Williams, reality shows can make fans ask, "'Can we trust you? Maybe we can’t. Maybe you’re a liar. Maybe you’re not someone whose brand who I want. Maybe you’re not likeable.' But how do you sell things? You need to be likeable! You need all these things that the show is not showing in the best light."
"I think the execs will say that it's a great platform, that you can build a business, you can be famous. But on the other hand, unlike the Kardashians, most reality stars do not have power over editing," she added. "You do not know if your sound bite is gonna be played at a certain point of the scene which can affect the scene and affect you being shown in a different light."
Recently, Frankel took to Instagram to call for what she refers to as "the reality TV reckoning," and went on to explain how reality stars need to join together to fight for better pay, more control of their contracts and more oversight on how they are presented in the final edits of the show.
For Williams, the big problem rests with the control that so many reality stars sign over into the hands of producers and execs.
"They’re getting paid decent money, but what they're actually signing away is way more valuable than what they are getting paid," Williams said. "So I think it's a conversation that needs to be had."
While the fight for a possible reality TV stars' union is just beginning, RHOA fans seem more concerned about getting Williams to return to the Bravo show -- which she said is a possibility she's not necessarily against.
"I mean, listen, it's so [good] to be missed. It would be bad if it's brought up and you're like, 'No, she can stay where she is,'" Williams joked. "I love that people want to see me. I love that people are still interested in my life and who I am."
"I’ve never written it off, I've never talked down on the show. I love what the girls are doing. I love that the brand is still as strong as it was before," she added, "and you just never know. I will say [that] I’ll never say 'never.'"
Currently, Williams is having a fun time with her role in the Fox competition series Stars on Mars, and she said the experience has been "incredible."
"I don’t know who came up with this idea. I don’t know if I want to say 'thank you' or 'I don’t like you.' But it is ingenious," Williams said of the show, which pits 12 celebrities from all different backgrounds of fame -- including actors, reality stars, and athletes -- as they try to live and work together in the same space station while trying to colonize mars in a high-tech simulation, and are faced with authentic conditions that replicated what life on Mars might be like.
"They throw us into these crazy insane challenges to survive on Mars and, yeah, it was a good time!" Williams said with a smile. "Lots of personalities."
All-new episodes of Stars on Mars air Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox!
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