Vanessa Williams will soon bring her new character, Renee Perry, to life on “Desperate Housewives,” hoping to reignite a show that limped to its season six finale last spring. And although Vanessa Williams’ character is still shrouded in mystery, the actress is making her thoughts known regarding how “Housewives” creator Marc Cherry chose to implement the show’s very first African American character.

In 2005, during the second season of “Desperate Housewives,” the series introduced a new character portrayed by Alfre Woodard. As the season unfolded, viewers discovered that Woodard had a dark secret, one that involved her own son confined to the basement in shackles.

That plot device still frustrates Vanessa Williams, who in a recent Entertainment Weekly interview said, “[Alfre Woodard’s character] had her son in chains in the basement. It was like, ‘Really? Do we have to go there with our first Black character?’”

Williams continued, saying, “I honestly fell off the show after that. I think it was just so implausible and just an image that Black folks don’t want to see.”

Vanessa Williams’ beef with “Desperate Housewives” obviously wasn’t beyond repair, as she’ll move onto Wisteria Lane tonight as the wife of a sports player. And while Renee Perry will certainly bring both drama and mystery to the suburbs, it’s a guarantee that any future secret on “Housewives” won’t go the Kunte Kinte route.