"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Apollo Nida is speaking out against allegations that he demanded payment up front to appear at a charity event for battered women and children.
According to Radar Online, Chase DeCarlo, of the battered women and children shelter Dio Bambini, asked both Nida and his fellow cast member, Kandi Burris, to host a May 2 charity event in Chicago. DeCarlo says he initially believed Nida would host the event for free, but that didn't turn out to be the case.
DeCarlo says Nida initially said he'd do the gig for $2,000. He eventually was able to bargain the fee down.
DeCarlo added that Nida's current legal troubles left him a little wary of paying the appearance fee in advance. “I’m really, really leery that his court date is before the event. It makes sense why he’s pressuring me and wanting me to book him," said DeCarlo.
“His people told me that I have to pay him everything up front and then they’ll send me a photograph to print on a flyer. I spoke to different celebrities, and he’s the only one who really wants to be paid before the event even happens,” he continued.
In response to suspicions that he's somehow trying to scam the charity, Nida posted a YouTube video on Wednesday, saying he would no longer remain quiet as people attack him. “If you wanna attack me, I decided nowadays that I’m going to attack back," he said.
“I have a lot of people who are supportive, and you have a lot of haters. People who are not supportive. At the end of the day, for you to try to mess up a brand like, Nida Fitness, Apollo Nida is a brand. And so for you to say something so derogatory…the blog site didn’t contact the individual. The individual goes out to contact the blog site and say, ‘Hey, this is what I think. Here goes Apollo’s contact. My stuff is official," added Nida in the video.
“My wife’s an attorney, as everyone knows. She’s not my attorney, but hey, I’m connected with many attorneys. And so all of my contracts are official."
Nida is reportedly working out a possible plea deal with federal prosecutors regarding his charges of bank fraud and identity theft. A judge has given his lawyers until April 25 to finalize a deal. If this deadline isn't met, he may face time in prison.
