Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes is speaking out for the first time about the arrest of her older son, Bryson Rashard Bryant.
During an interview with former Housewives producer Carlos King, Leakes opened up about Bryson's "addiction" following his arrest earlier this month on charges including possession of a scheduled ll controlled substance, per People.
"He needs rehabilitation," Leakes said. "He needs a lot of counseling. Like many families out there, I have family members that are struggling with drugs and certain addictions. He has an addiction. He's been struggling with it for years. He's been in rehab for a couple of times and he still has come back out and relapsed."
Gwinnett County Police said officers found Bryson in a car with "a small plastic bag that contained a white powdery substance." When tested, the substance "provided a presumptive positive for Fentanyl," police said.
"As a mom just to watch it, my hands are tied," Leakes said. "[There's] not much that I can do. For people who have had children or family members that have been on drugs, they know that they have to be ready. They have to simply be ready."
"I’ve spent so much money on trying to get Bryson where he needs to be," she continued. "But every time I've sent him off is because I said, ‘You are getting your ass up and we are sending you off.’ But I learned through counseling myself that he has to say, ‘I’m ready to go,’ not me making him go. So until Bryson is ready to make a change, [there’s] nothing I [can] do."
During his July 3 arrest, Bryson falsely identified himself as his younger brother Brentt, according to police. Bryson also didn't provide an accurate current address, saying that he lived at one of Leake's former homes. He was charged with giving a false name, address, or birthdate on top of the possession charge.
When asked if Bryson's exposure to reality TV contributed to his drug use, Leakes said: "I don't think it helped."
"I wouldn't say that the sole cause of it, [but] it certainly didn't help because we started on television when Bryson was like in the 11th or 12th grade and Brent was in third grade. And, so they're, they're having to be in a light shine, a light shine on them that they did not ask for," she said. "People are picking them apart because of the job that I chose to do. And so I feel for them in that way. But there's just issues that he has."
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