Everything Chelsea has said about being the only Black cast member on Selling Sunset
'If I’m going to represent, I want to represent in the best way possible'
Let’s be real, Chelsea Lazkani didn’t just walk into Selling Sunset, she owned her place within The Oppenheim Group.
Since joining the show in season five, the British-Nigerian real estate agent has made waves for her quick wit, high-glam style, and the way she speaks openly about being one of the only Black women in luxury real estate, and on the show.
Over the past few years, she’s been refreshingly honest about what that’s like, from the pressure to represent to the micro-aggressions she’s had to navigate while holding her own against the show’s biggest personalities.
She instantly noticed a lack of diversity
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When Chelsea joined Selling Sunset, she knew she was walking into a space that wasn’t exactly overflowing with diversity. In her 2022 Vogue interview, she said:
“I’m British and I’m Nigerian and I’m working in a real-estate brokerage where there isn’t anybody else who looks like me. Amanza is Black, but there isn’t anybody who looks like me.”
She added that she wanted to make her presence count: “If I’m going to represent, I want to represent in the best way possible, by being strong, confident, and opinionated, even when I don’t feel like it, because my voice is going to be used as the voice for everybody who looks like me. I’m not doing this just for myself.”
She’s proud to represent in an industry where diversity is rare
chelsea being 1 of 4 agents to close on anything this season, pushing 2 different storylines, and still saving enough time to whack Nick Cannon
yeah, that’s mother and I’m gonna stick beside her! #SellingSunset pic.twitter.com/qLqd7eH9XA
— A ✨ (@realiteawh0re) May 19, 2023
Chelsea’s not shy about the facts: “Only five percent of realtors are Black, and an even smaller percentage are in luxury real estate,” she told British Vogue.
When she first started in the business, she noticed how people reacted: “It was hard to generate new leads because people weren’t used to seeing Black people knocking on doors or cold calling. Familiarity is everything.”
That’s why being visible matters to her, she’s proof that high-end real estate doesn’t have a single ‘look’. She’s also determined to help open doors for other women of colour in the industry, saying: “I’d love nothing more than for people to watch the show and think, ‘Maybe I should get my real-estate licence too’.”
She’s called out micro-aggressions and unfair scrutiny
“So when Bre invites everyone it’s an olive branch, but when Chelsea sends flowers it’s calculated? I just don’t understand the double standard.” #SellingSunset #SellingSunsetReunion pic.twitter.com/XZUnxbdIJv
— 👸🏾L E A👸🏾 (@_MissLeandra) November 6, 2025
Chelsea’s no stranger to a little shade, but she’s also been real about what she faces as the only Black woman in a mostly white cast.
She spoke about micro-aggressions and misunderstandings that come from “a lack of exposure,” in another interview with Pop Sugar.
As she put it: “If you don’t understand what a micro-aggression is, you’ll never understand when you are displaying one.”
She’s also aware that people tend to pick apart her actions more harshly: “I look very different from every other cast member, so it’s a lot easier for people to pinpoint the little things I do wrong, because there’s only one of me. If there were 20 of me, it wouldn’t be so loud.”
Chelsea broke down in tears over ‘undertones’
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Appearing on the Reality with the King podcast with Carlos King, Chelsea said she often felt “unseen and misheard” on Selling Sunset.
When asked if she found it hard being a Black girl in “these white spaces” on the show, Chelsea said: “Very much so…”
“I struggle so much because I’m trying to be my authentic self…” and added that she felt “undertones of ‘Chelsea’s a bully’, or ‘Chelsea’s aggressive’… never in my life until coming on reality TV have I heard that,” before breaking down in tears.
She said: “It makes me so sad, especially sometimes from the girls… Chrishell and Emma really leaned in to get ot know me… but never in my life have I ever been called a bully or mean or aggressive… the other girls never really gave me a chance.”
“If I say something I’m ‘mean’ or ‘aggressive’… if someone said the exact same thing, she’s just giving her opinion.” Chelsea said she “tries to watch her tone” on the show.
She’s even been trolled for her accent
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In her Vogue UK interview, Chelsea joked that she didn’t even realise her accent was going to be a thing: “The first time I ever heard anything about my accent was after the show came out. I sound British, I sound a little bit like I’m from the Valley, and I also sound nervous.”
She added that the reaction online was rough at times: “There’s no way to prepare yourself… I saw a lot of racism and misogyny.”
She knows she’s paving the way
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Chelsea clearly knows what her visibility on Selling Sunset means. She said: “I’d love nothing more than for people who look like me to see themselves in this world…”
“…If that means I have to be the first, then so be it.”
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