Viewers who watched MTV’s The Real World: Portland season saw the emergence of Nia Moore as “Hurricane Nia” due to her various attacks and antics towards her RW castmates.
That was nine years ago, and The Challenge star said those “reprehensible” altercations significantly impacted her life after they were televised. However, Nia explained how she’s since grown from those physical altercations and healed those issues with her castmates.
She recently opened up in a series of social media messages, saying she could understand how actor Will Smith was feeling after his Oscars incident. Nia also shared how her earlier reality television events shaped her into the woman she is now.
Nia Moore opens up about Real World altercations
On Sunday night, the Academy Awards telecast included a jaw-dropping moment, as actor Will Smith took action following a joke made by presenter Chris Rock. Viewers in the audience and watching via TV or live stream saw Smith walk up to the stage and smack Rock in the face after his G.I. Jane 2 joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
It was followed by Smith warning Rock from the audience not to ever speak about his wife again. The moment became the talk of the night for many, overshadowing the various awards winners, which included Will Smith winning his first-ever Oscar as Best Actor in King Richard.
Smith ultimately apologized for the incident on social media, and now the Academy is looking into further repercussions. However, former Challenge and Real World star Nia Moore shared that she understands how Smith felt after that moment on TV in a recent Twitter message.
On Monday evening, the 33-year-old tweeted about how her incidents in which she had physical altercations with castmates during the Real World affected her life.
“If anyone can understand how Will Smith is feeling today, it’s me. 9 years ago while filming a reality TV show, I got into a physical altercation with my cast mates. At the time, it felt completely justified and I was unapologetic about my actions,” Nia said.
She explained that as the years went by, she matured and realized how “regardless of the situation,” her actions were “reprehensible.” She mentioned that she forgave the others involved and asked them to forgive her, bringing about “genuine friendships.”
However, Nia also mentioned that her previous altercation shown on TV made others “initially reluctant to get close” to her and even caused her issues in getting a job in her preferred career field.
“When I decided to pursue a career in corporate aviation, every door I knocked on would not open, despite being overly qualified for the position. That incident, although years prior, had consequences,” she wrote.
Along with that, Nia added that Will smith is “human,” and his “human emotions got the best of him.” Nia says that others don’t know what caused him to reach that “breaking point,” and it’s not really anyone else’s business.
“I hope that we as people give him something that won’t be snatched away due to judgment. And that is grace. Grace to grow. Grace to heal. And faith that he’ll be a better human for it,” she said, adding she is “forever thankful” for those who allowed her to do that.
Nia had aired incidents on The Real World and The Challenge
Nia’s comments arrived nine years after being a replacement cast member for The Real World: Portland, where she terrorized her roommates after moving in. Her time on the RW included several physical altercations, particularly with Averey Tressler and her then-boyfriend, Johnny Reilly. Despite assaulting them, Nia never got kicked off the show.
Her Real World season also included a flirty relationship with Jordan Wiseley, which ultimately turned into a heated argument with them using the N-word towards one another.
Following those televised altercations, she also competed in two seasons of MTV’s The Challenge. They included Free Agents and Battle of the Exes 2. The latter of these seasons saw Nia teamed up with Leroy Garrett, and they were headed to the final. However, just before they could compete in it, Nia got kicked off following another televised incident where she assaulted fellow finalist Jordan.
Following her exit from The Challenge: Battle of the Exes 2, Nia didn’t return for the show, with many fans wondering if she was permanently banned due to her actions or chose to stay away. Nia and Jordan eventually patched things up, even appearing on Instagram Live together in 2020 to discuss their Real World fight.
“He and I do not agree on everything, but what we do agree on is we genuinely love and respect each other as human beings; we genuinely accepted each other’s apologies,” Nia said, after repeatedly mentioning she didn’t feel Jordan was being racist towards her in that argument.
As she mentioned in her recent comments on Twitter, Nia has learned and grown from those reality TV incidents. While they may not be forgotten, she was able to forgive and receive others’ forgiveness as part of her journey toward becoming the woman she is today.
The Challenge Season 38 is TBA on MTV. The Challenge: All Stars 2 premieres on May 11 on Paramount Plus.