Bravo Sanitized Pinky Cole Gun Reference on 'RHOA' Reunion Show

Pinky Cole's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" blowup apparently got a little too close to "The Wire" for Bravo's taste ... because the network turned her gun talk into a vague reference to a "device."

Here's the deal ... during the Season 17 reunion show part two, which aired Sunday night, Pinky and Phaedra Parks got heated when Pinky ripped Phaedra for ratting her out to "higher-ups" over Pinky having, in her words, a "significant device" to protect herself.

A source with direct knowledge tells us the device was a gun, and Phaedra wasn't down with the new 'RHOA' member bringing it up. To clarify, we're told Pinky was never in possession of a gun on set at any point and time.

We're told Pinky's gun remark was not part of a scene -- she said it earlier in the season to Phaedra off-camera -- and she was talking about needing protection, but was NOT threatening Phaedra or any other cast members.

The incident resurfaced during Sunday's reunion episode ... when Pinky accused Phaedra of trying to get her in trouble with Bravo execs, but Phaedra and Andy Cohen denied it went down that way.

Phaedra took a shot at Pinky during the reunion, saying ... "This ain't 'The Wire.'" Pinky's from Baltimore, where the iconic HBO show was set.

Anyways, we're told Bravo edited down the conversation about the firearm, since it was an interaction that occurred off-camera ... no one called it a gun during the edited-down version of the hot topic -- most likely to avoid another gun controversy.

Remember, former 'RHOA' star Brit Eady was caught on camera last season mentioning she had a gun during a heated moment involving Kenya Moore.