I think that Kandi is 1000% right on that front. This past season Mama Joyce raised Kandi to a level of relevance that she has not had on RHoA since her first season, and while I think that this tacky wedding special would have gotten respectable ratings on its on, IMO Mama Joyce's antics are the reason that its premiere episode broke records.
Kandi and Todd are not bad people, but she is passive-aggressive and messy and he is an opportunist. To me, there is no way that if Kandi had all the same personality and physical traits that she has now except that she was a neighborhood hairdresser that Todd would be putting up with Joyce and Kandi's enabling of Joyce. I think that Todd and Kandi see reality TV as the means for them establish / solidify / grow their businesses, all they have to do is act hapless while Mama Joyce does her thing, and then when not filming, be out pursuing taking advantage of the visibility that being on a hit reality TV provides.
As far as Mama Joyce is concerned, she may not be getting paid - she claimed she was not for RHoA, which is probably fine by her because she knows (IME) that she just just wrote her ticket to be supported by and run roughshod over Kandi for the remainder of her life.
ETA:
This is my first post, I was Tafatia on TWoP.
