Ah, the Birkin bag — the legendary Hermès masterpiece named after Jane. It costs as much as a college tuition. It makes aspiring editors swoon as their superiors strut past with it perched on their arms. And, it's what celebrities (and people with too much money on their hands) use as a makeshift canvas. Unfortunately, this is what NeNe Leakes just did — but don't worry, it was for charity.
Leakes caused mayhem last week when she posted a picture on Instagram of a black Hermès Birkin with "NeNe-isms"— catchphrases from her claim to fame, The Real Housewives of Atlanta — graffiti-ed all over its once-pristine exterior. The text includes such gems as "Fix that body," "I'm very rich bitch," and "close your legs to married men!" Unluckily for Leakes, however, her post included no mention of a charity auction or fundraiser. It was just an Insta-pic, taken from the back of a private car, using a lesser-known filter we'll assume was called "Tears of the Fashion Throngs."
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It wasn't until Wendy Williams called Leakes out for defacing a luxury item that she revealed her charitable intentions for the bag — and struck back at Williams. At the end of a scathing attack Leakes posted on her personal blog, she added, "My Birkin is being turned into a work of art to raise money for a worthy charity something you fail to mention on your show! I don’t have one Birkin I have five now run tell that WIG."
Of course, we see where the miscommunication may have been. After all, NeNe is not the first bedazzled-Birkin offender, as Williams pointed out on her show. Last Christmas, Kanye West gifted his then-fiancée Kim Kardashian a "personalized" Hermès bag with an original George Condo painting on it. And, Lady Gaga's also been a fan of doodling on Birkin's clean, leather surface. Why wouldn't we think NeNe had hopped on the DIY bandwagon for herself?
Hey, we all have a right to graffiti spend our money as we please. But, on behalf of those who save for years, suffer through wait-lists, and/or travel far and wide to purchase a beloved Birkin, we really hope this Leakes original gives back to that worthy charity tenfold. Otherwise, "girl bye."