Claudia on Her Sit-Down With Porsha

Bravotv.com: What's the best and worst thing about working on your radio show?
Claudia Jordan: The worst thing about working on a morning show is the hours and the lifestyle adjustment. I used to be able to travel at the drop of a hat and stay up late, but now I must be responsible and force myself to try to get to bed before 11 pm. Also, I can't hang out with my friends during the week, because I'm terrified I will oversleep. It's a challenge to get up at 5 am every day. 

The best thing about working on this radio show is having a voice and a national platform. That is such a powerful thing to have. If any false stories are out there about me, I can address them if I want to. That's one bonus! Also more importantly, when events like the Mike Brown shooting in Ferguson happened, I was able to hop on a plane, with the support of my morning show crew, and go do some reporting on my own. Being one of the first people on the scene and talking to the people in the community that were deeply hurt and affected by the killing of an unarmed 18-year-old boy, I got to tell a side of the story that may not have gotten as much attention. I can't tell you how great it felt to get tweets thanking me and the entire Rickey Smiley Morning crew for caring and actually sending one of their own to get the real story. It was truly an amazing experience that I will never forget. Also, on a lighter note, knowing that our crew helps get folks up in the morning and laughing is a wonderful feeling! It's very fulfilling! 

Bravotv.com: Were you surprised that Porsha seemed to be acting shady towards you?
CJ: I was surprised when I saw the shade at work, because before I moved to Atlanta, Porsha and I had hung out a few times in NYC and Miami and we have always had a good time.

But the older I get, the less shocked I am by people and the things they do. But what I will always do first before writing someone off is at least try to reason with them. I sometimes even do this with rude folks on social media. Every so often you have a breakthrough with someone and they may even admit, "Hey I was wrong, but you showed me another perspective." I'm just the type that believes in at least trying. And I'm also not the type of woman that can ever be influenced to like or not like someone else based on anyone else's opinion or experience. Maybe because of my old journalism roots, but I like to see and find out for myself. I could never have another grown woman put a battery in my back or a thought in my brain. That is the ultimate fail. When you open yourself to try to get an understanding of another person, you are not only doing the right thing, but you are independently thinking. You are giving yourself and the other person a fair chance. I have made some amazing friends and not everyone started off perfectly, but having a mature and open-minded attitude will enhance your life far more than it will hurt it. Again, I'm open minded and independently thinking, and I think a pretty fair person. So if someone has good intentions and a good heart, most likely I will notice it.  

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Bravotv.com: What exactly is wrong with your toes?
CJ: Um, where do I start? OK let me just say this, I have a good shaped foot and my toes are all the proper length, but it's just these toes… I got corns y'all! It started when I ran track and would wear a really tight track spike when I would race (basically cramming my feet in a shoe a size smaller), then when I got into modeling and wearing heels all the time, that wreaked havoc on my poor toes.

On more than one occasion I've done shoots and had to cram my size 10 foot into a size 8 shoe, and it was torture! Well, years of mistreating my poor toes have caused permanent damage. Then once I was drugged up on Vicodin after having all four of my wisdom teeth surgically removed, I walked right into a chair and stubbed three of my toes so hard that when I looked down, one of them was facing the other way! Yes, I had a spiral fracture, and it hurt like hell! So I rushed to the hospital where the doctor had to inject a needle right into the point of the break to administer a pain killer, then the doctor pulled my toe back into place, kind of. Well I had broken two of my toes on my right foot, and they never really healed straight, and when I was able to wear heels again, the constant rubbing just made four really big ugly corns on my right foot. So (yes this story is still going), then I got a job on Deal or No Deal, and we'd have very long days in brand-new, not-broken-in, very high-heeled shoes. That was where my foot struggle was solidified. I remember 19-hour days shooting three episodes in one day! One day a few of the girls complained that their feet were bleeding, and I was one of them.

So yeah… I have been very blessed with good skin, but that's only from the ankles up. My toes are torn up, and I've been considering surgery for years now, but I'm scared of the pain! And I'd also like to add that I blame Eddie Murphy and that Boomerang movie. I swear no one cared about feet until that movie put us on blast! Yes, my feet are torn up, but I can cook, so hopefully that cancels my out my "condition." 

Bravotv.com: What were you thinking when Porsha refused to talk about the Kenya situation?
CJ: Honestly, I was the new girl, and I just figured that Porsha was holding out on me. I was thinking, "OK, I know she knows there's a reason I asked her to lunch, and it certainly wasn't to discuss Tom Ford lotion," so actually I was perplexed! Why are you stalling answering my questions when we can hash it out and we can both go about our business? I thought that I came at her in a very cool, fair, and non-abrasive way, so when Porsha refused to even discuss Kenya in any way, I thought that was odd. I mean, at this point there have been countless interviews and blogs written and tweets and Instagram jabs made, so I'm figuring I'm not asking you about anything private or personal. It was public knowledge. I was sincerely trying to assist with some kind of resolve. I really and truly was. Now was I naive enough to think that I could make them be friends? No, not at all. And that wasn't my intent. I simply wanted us to get to a place where they could be in the same room together without an issue. That's all. I know miracles don't happen overnight and some friendships will quite frankly never materialize. So I figured as someone who is new in town and has no enemies, I'd love to be able to go to everyone's event and support all the ladies and sometimes invite Kenya along with me and not have to worry about any problems if we run into Porsha. That fight was very detrimental and sad to me. I cringe when I think about it actually. So if there is even the smallest thing that I could do to try to help avoid another incident, why not? Hey, at least I can say I tried. Again, I'm not expecting them to be BFFs, but we are in a group, and we all attend the same events, so if it can be a little less awkward, why not? I do not regret trying to bridge the gap at all. And yes, I'd do it again. It's the right thing to do. 

Bravotv.com: Were you surprised some of the other ladies don't believe Apollo was lying about seeing Kenya in LA?
CJ: Hmm, I'm more surprised and disappointed that anyone would let another woman's opinion change their own. I know for sure I heard at least one person say that they thought they owed Kenya an apology for spreading the "Kenya is a whore" rumor. Then all it took was one statement from NeNe that she didn't believe that Apollo was telling the truth this time, and boom, others fell right into line. That was amazing to me! I'm like wow, Ms. Leakes, please teach me how you just pulled that Jedi mind trick! But that scene made me have even more respect for Kandi, because she didn't go with the crowd just to pile on and be a mean girl. She stood strong on what she believed and said, "Hey, I owe her an apology, and that's what I'm going to do." That, my friends, was a grown woman move. They are becoming more and more rare I see, so when I see these moves, I must celebrate them. Yay Kandi! I think deep down they all know that Kenya was not trying to have an affair with Apollo, but to admit that truth now would give them less of a reason to hate her. And for some reason folks would rather hate than get along. Here's my observation: If you take away the lie that Kenya was interested in Apollo, what do you have against the woman? You may think she does too much at times, OK, um, so do many of the ladies. These are big personalities. So then I hear, "Well she was wrong for flirting with Apollo." Yet no one seemed to have a problem when NeNe Leakes was all over Peter making her flirtatious comments. You know why? Because Kenya is beautiful, so no one will believe that she could actually just be playing around just like NeNe was. These are the inconsistencies in this group that I'm starting to notice. And it's just not right. Now if you simply do not like Kenya because she rubs you the wrong way, fine...but to assault this woman's integrity and give her the scarlet letter to wear is just not cool. No ma'am. If you were going to believe Apollo when he first claimed he had some dealings with Kenya, then dammit, you should believe him now that he came clean and admitted he was lying. It's all pretty damn simple to me. Right? 

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