What Happened Between NeNe & Claudia on 'RHOA'?

If there's one thing I've learned from watching season after season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta it's that you don't want to get on NeNe Leakes' bad side. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like new Housewife Claudia Jordan got that memo. But she will soon learn. Oh boy will she learn.

In the upcoming episode of RHOA airing on Nov. 23, NeNe returns to Atlanta from her stint in Las Vegas where she starred in the Cirque Du Soleil show Zumanity and apparently pretended to be Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge. Upon her return, NeNe sits down with Porsha Williams to get caught up on all the comings and goings of the ladies of the ATL, and Porsha tells NeNe that Claudia is now in town.

Then NeNe makes a stank face like she just saw the ghost of Kim Zolciak. The face also signals that oh yeah, she knows who Claudia is. Or rather, NeNe says she knows of Claudia. But even though NeNe tries to distance herself from this RHOA newbie, it's clear that there's some sort of beef between the two. NeNe goes on to say, "Why is she here in Atlanta? The thirst is real. The thirst is real." Ooh, the library is open, dahling.

The pair quickly move on to the revelation that Apollo had lied about Kenya's past sexual advances toward him, so NeNe's subtle aversion to Claudia gets swept under the weave for now. However, this is something I just can't ignore. NeNe and Claudia haven't even been on screen together on RHOA yet. How could there already be drama between them?

I thought NeNe and Claudia would hit it off. They've both appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice and consider themselves actresses. Couldn't they just schmooze over show biz cordially? Well, knowing — and loving — the diva that NeNe is, wherever she is, conflict follows. So what exactly is the deal with these two?

NeNe's "the thirst is real" comments about Claudia would suggest that she thinks Claudia likes to sleep around, to put it mildly. And spoilers from later this season could confirm this suspicion: A source told The Daily Mail that during the ladies' trip to Puerto Rico the two get into it, with NeNe accusing Claudia of sleeping with a lot of men, calling her a poser, and insulting her appearance. You know, the usual NeNe shade. Claudia is rumored to have fired back with insults about NeNe's age and her stripper past. Well, well, well Ms. Jordan. Welcome to RHOA.

What we do know for sure is that NeNe will call Claudia a "whore" and tell her, "Hollywood ain't lookin' for you," as seen in the Season 7 trailer. Could it be? Do I actually detect some jealousy from NeNe here? Maybe that's the source of her antagonism toward Claudia.

Or maybe NeNe doesn't like Claudia cozying up to her friend Porsha's ex-husband Kordell Stewart later on this season. Claudia admits to being friends with Kordell, but it's unclear whether anything more serious than a selfie will transpire between them. Although, Kenya does suggest that Claudia could be the "next Mrs. Stewart," so that's something.

What's strange, or maybe sad, I can't decide, is that NeNe and Claudia had a friendly relationship before RHOA, at least on Twitter. Almost a year ago, Claudia tweeted a compliment to NeNe, and now it looks like the pair are going to be the main foes on RHOA Season 7.

Unfortunately, it's unclear right now whether NeNe doesn't like Claudia based on rumors, if something more serious happened between them, or if it's just NeNe being NeNe. The same goes for Claudia's part in this fight. But if I know anything about RHOA it's that all the conflict will be revealed at some point this season — and revisited again and again and again.

Images: Alex Martinez/Bravo; mayaslewis, realhousewivesofatlanta/Tumblr