Bette Midler is ready for a reality-TV reinvention, if her Twitter is any indication. “Is it too late for me to become a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills?†she wrote. “I’ve never watched it, but I am in the mood to talk some shit. And to get paid for it? A dream!†F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that there are no second acts in American lives. But that was pre-Bravo. (Sidenote: what an incredible Housewife Zelda would have been. Scott couldn’t have stolen her bon mots as his own if they were already reaction gifs.)
Andy Cohen seemed amenable to Midler’s suggestion. He replied with a diamond emoji (the Beverly Hills Housewives hold big fake diamonds in the RHOBH opening credits) and two words: It’s time! “I think my tagline should be, ‘Those Beaches don’t know what’s about to hit ’em!!†Midler wrote in response. But Midler may not be ready for the level of intrusiveness and conflict that comes with the Housewife lifestyle. Denise Richards famously joined the cast of Beverly Hills briefly, only to bow out when her personal life was interrogated a little too closely. Or maybe Midler could get a sweetheart “we don’t talk about what I don’t wanna talk about†deal like RHONY’s Jenna Lyons.