In a post-#Scandoval world, Vanderpump Rules can make headlines when it’s not even on the air yet. Cameras are currently rolling and little dribs and drabs of info are leaking like a faulty diaper. There are two I would like to call your attention to. The first is that it seems like Raquel/Rachel Leviss, the lynchpin in the drama, will most likely not be back for season 11. This is clearly for the best. After her two-month stay in a mental-health facility, I don’t think even the most rabid of viewers would want a season of reality TV inflicted on her.
But there is someone coming back for next season: Billie Lee, the former SUR hostess and rumored Sandoval mistress, whom “Page Six†described as a “comedian.†IJBOL, as the kids say. That’s the only funny joke they’ve ever told. It’s also a shame that the Bravosphere’s only trans star has allied herself with its greatest villain, but let’s take that representation wherever we can get it.
While we’re not sure who will be on the next season of Pump Rules, we do know who is on this current season of RHONY, and it’s time to judge them. Also, we’re hanging at Jill Zarin’s Hamptons benefit, which of course featured a resplendent swag bag. But first — and this is an evergreen question, really — what the hell is going on with Bethenny?
Union Now
Bethenny Frankel is a one-woman organizing team against Bravo
What, exactly, is Bethenny’s deal? This question could apply to so many things — her prolific TikTok use, her hatred of Jonah Hill, her lack of support for other women — but right now, I’m specifically talking about her push for a union for reality stars.
It started with an Instagram post on July 19, in which Bethenny said that with writers and actors striking (in part) over the residual payments they get when their work is resold, reality stars should have the same type of arrangement. “I myself have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and online impressions being on reality TV and have never made a single residual. So, either I’m missing something or we’re getting screwed too.â€
She’s not wrong. Reality stars have some of the worst contracts in the entertainment industry, and I have long said that it’s all upside for Bravo and the production companies that make these shows and it’s all downside for the women. Yes, they get paid, some (like Kandi Burruss) more than $1 million a season. But new Housewives make only about $60,000 for their first season, and that number hasn’t gone up even though, you know, inflation, cozzie livs, etc. The counterargument goes that the women can monetize their appearances on the show to make more, and Bethenny herself points out that many have tried and failed (except for her, natch). It’s not a sustainable idea. It’s like saying to a restaurant server, “We’re not going to pay you a lot, but you can sell the leftovers to people on the street to make more money.†And even if the women do make $1 million a season, they’re the ones in the hot seat if they say or do something fans don’t like. Do you think anyone is sending the head of Bravo death threats on social media? Hell no! (You shouldn’t do that to reality stars, either, but that is a different newsletter.)
On top of that paltry initial pay, they don’t see another dime from Bravo apart from their salary. If the show is a huge hit or really takes off (see the last season of Pump Rules), there is no bonus. Bethenny doesn’t get any money when fans restream episodes on Peacock or when Bravo runs a marathon of old episodes, even though no one would be tuning in without the hard work of her and her cohort. On Shop by Bravo, you can buy an “I Made It Nice†hoodie, mug, apron, socks, Christmas ornament, or Christmas sweater, and Dorinda Medley doesn’t see any of that. Also, there is the famous Bethenny Clause, where Bravo gets a percentage if any Housewife sells a business that she started while appearing on the show for more than $1 million. These women just earn, earn, earn, and Bravo keeps cashing the check.
“Yes,†you’re saying, “but they signed a contract.†But are these contracts even fair? Or do they exploit women who are willing to do just about anything to get famous? Unlike many fledgling actors, musicians, or even writers, first-time reality stars don’t have agents, managers, or possibly even lawyers. (Can’t they get Phaedra Parks on speed dial?) How are they going to say no when they have stars in their eyes keeping them from reading the fine print?
I’m with Bethenny; a union is a great idea. Bethenny has the support of SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, and, she claims, about 80 reality stars who have reached out to join the fight. Former Housewife Cynthia Bailey is onboard, saying, “Our likeness can run on forever and ever, and I feel like it’s fair for us to get some kind of compensation for our image and our likeness just being on TV and just being able to just run it until the end of time.†One notable holdout, however, is the aforementioned Kandi Burruss, who told Entertainment Tonight, “It wouldn’t make any sense for me to be a part of that.†I love Kandi, but I’m on organized labor’s side.
Bethenny’s next move, however, opened a whole new can of worms. She hired entertainment lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, who sent a strongly worded letter to the general counsel of NBCUniversal — which owns Bravo, E!, Peacock, and more — accusing them of “a pattern and practice of grotesque and depraved mistreatment of the reality stars and crew members on whose account its coffers swell.†The letter contains plenty of sordid details, and, as reality fans, we love a sordid detail. It suggests that producers ply cast members with alcohol and don’t give them enough food or sleep, deny them mental-health care, won’t let them leave filming even under dire circumstances, cover up sexual violence, don’t compensate minors, and distribute revenge porn.
As a reality fan and reporter, I know many of these are absolutely true, but there is nonetheless a bit of irony to a Housewife leading this particular charge. The shows that tend to resort to such exploitation are shows where a vast majority of participants only appear once, like The Bachelor/ette, Survivor, Big Brother, or even Bravo’s own Below Deck, which is having its own reckoning about sexual assault and alcohol use at the moment. These are not shows where the cast can be easily unionized. In most cases, the networks don’t want them back, so they have absolutely no leverage to negotiate or engage in collective bargaining. Yes, some contestants will go between shows or into the awaiting arms of franchise extensions like Bachelor in Paradise, but considering how many new contestants each of those shows need every season, those repeats only represent a small percent of overall contestants. Unless it’s The Challenge — those people just come back and back and back. If you got those kids organized, they’d be more terrifying than the Teamsters.
By contrast, the Housewives and most other Bravo shows — the Married to Medicines and Summer Houses — rely on cast members returning season after season, so producers have more incentive to not treat them terribly, and the casts have more leverage, both individually and as a collective. So the Housewives, who are in the best position to form a union (I hereby nominate Emily Simpson to be their Fran Drescher), are arguably the ones who least need protection from these tactics. (For my book, I asked a bunch of Housewives and producers specifically about some of the practices around booze, and the response I got from most people is that it is up to the women how much they drink, and none of the women I spoke to said they felt external pressure to raise a glass.) In this case, Bethenny and the other Bravolebs backing her are in a position to be this would-be reality TV union’s equivalent of Hollywood A-listers hopping on the picket line, using their celebrity and relative privilege to advocate for those who aren’t afforded the same protections.
Is that how Bethenny, who with her BStrong initiative has remade herself as a kind of philanthropist, sees herself in this situation? Or are these the moves of a consummate businesswoman, one who sees an opportunity for more cash? I don’t know. But what I do know is that all reality stars should be protected from exploitative filming practices because of, you know, human decency. Period. Dot. That may not be a fight labor can win, but it’s something that we, as reality fans, should be advocating for and expecting our reality producers to uphold. (Big Brother finally evicted someone for using a racist slur, so we’re on the right track.) However, when it comes to residuals and other monetary stipulations in Housewives’ contracts, that is totally a fight that labor can win, and I’ll be the first one to tell the ladies to put a tagline on a picket sign and get out there in front of 30 Rock.
Here Comes the Judge
The Eileen Davidson Accords have expired, so it’s time for a verdict on the new RHONY cast.
Way back in 2014, when Eileen Davidson (and Lisa Rinna) joined the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I thought she was boring and lame and slagged her off in my recap of the premiere. Then, a few episodes in, she started to grow on me like a second skin or a much-too-tight denim jumpsuit. That is when we at the Housewives Institute established the Eileen Davidson Accords, which gives each new Housewife a five-episode grace period before we decide whether or not we like her. Well, it’s actually whether or not we hate her, but I’m trying to keep my cocktail half-full.
The RHONY reboot will reach its fifth episode this Sunday, but I’m going to be on vacation for two weeks so won’t be recapping. But fret not! I have watched the fifth episode (no spoilers!) and I am here to issue official judgments on all the ladies. But first, I think it’s also time to render judgment on the reboot in general, and I would say that, by and large, it is successful. What we’re getting now is a better RHONY, one that’s operating on a higher taste level and that hasn’t devolved into drunken shouting and yearslong recriminations among the cast. I’m sure that’s to come in season two, but so far I’m having a blast spending time with this group of cool, diverse, and slightly bitchy ladies. Onto the judgments, in order of who I stan most to least.
Jenna Lyons: For me, there has never been an aspirational Housewife until the former J.Crew director showed up on the scene. I want her house, I want her clothes, I want her vintage Mercedes, I want her casual breakfast diamonds, I want it all. We’ve had LGBTQIA+ cast members before, but what I love about Jenna is she’s not afraid to say, “I sleep with women, so my sex life is different.†She’s not trying to convince the straights that she’s just like them. No, she’s telling us how and why being a queer woman isn’t the same. But the most fascinating thing about Jenna is that she does not understand the assignment. I feel like she watched maybe two Housewives episodes before cameras came up, so she’s just being herself. While the other women have memorized the old Housewives playbook, Jenna is out here writing her own and doing an amazing job of it.
Sai de Silva: I’m not sure why I love Sai. I think it was the conversation she had with the women in Erin’s backyard, when Erin and Jenna were talking about how they love the cheap things but Sai says she can’t because she grew up on the dollar store and never wants its junk again. Yes, she has some of the more annoying Housewife ticks — namely the performative overpacking — but I find her refreshing, honest, and most of all funny. When she asked the driver to take her to Provisions after Erin didn’t feed her in the Hamptons, I cackled. I think she’s going to mature into our comic relief.
Brynn Whitfield: I didn’t think she’d be in the third spot, but here we are. Our resident much younger Samantha Jones had a very strong showing in episode four, when we learned about her difficult childhood in Indiana. So many things about her make sense now. She seems true, fun, authentic, and ready to stir any pot that can’t be smoked. Brynn is a gorgeous woman in the greatest city in the world, so why is this queen pulling a Paige DeSorbo and flirting with one of those Southern Charm dirtbags? If anything, Brynn might be trying a bit too hard, but I feel like some iconic moments are well within her grasp.
Jessel Taank: This is the lady who puked on the red carpet at the season premiere and had to leave the premises. Iconic behavior. At first I thought Jessel was a one-and-done, but her lack of self-awareness and the complete batshittery of claiming things like Tribeca is still an “up-and-coming†neighborhood confirm that she has two important ingredients for Housewives greatness. After Jenna alerted everyone that Jessel called them “cackling hags,†she’s set up to be this season’s villain. I think that’s a great place for Jessel, and I look forward to hating her for years to come.
Ubah Hassan: I’m just not vibing with Ubah. She’s pretty and has a great fashion sense, but her wackiness is all a little bit too much for me. I cringed so hard when she took the coconut milk from Topping Rose that I think most of my body was sucked into my navel. And her having to face north at restaurants? Not even North West wants that. But my biggest gripe is that I still feel like I don’t know her. Maybe that’s the show not giving her as much attention as some of the other women, or maybe it’s her own reluctance to get personal, but the more the women divulge, the more relatable and likable I find them, but Ubah is just not giving it to me.
Erin Dana Lichy: Since the day this started, I’ve been calling her Ramona 2.0, then we found out about her donations to Trump. I mean, should we change her annoying middle name to “Singer� About the donations, she said in a statement, “I do not deny the election and have never supported stop the steal.†Okay, sure. But you still donated to Trump after the election. There’s no denying that. Also, Erin’s publicists have been very aggressive getting her press coverage since the premiere. I had confirmed she was going to send her controversial shakshuka recipe for this very newsletter, but then hours before the deadline, her bumbling publicist said it wasn’t coming. I’m not above being petty and bitter (hello, I’m a Housewives expert), so Erin’s getting no positive coverage around these parts. And, no, I wouldn’t give people eggs before working out or be caught dead at Catch, either.
Ladies Who Luncheon
A visit to Jill Zarin’s Hamptons fundraiser
The Housewives Institute received an invitation to Jill Zarin’s annual Luxury Luncheon in the Hamptons to benefit the Bobby Zarin Memorial Trust. (Its slogan should be “Helping patient husbands everywhere.â€) Sadly, because the Institute is headquartered in London, we could not attend. Instead, we sent our senior vice-president for special events and Andy’s Girls podcaster Sarah Galli in our stead. Here is her full report.Â
For RHONY fans, there are more than seven wonders of the world: the Regency, Bluestone Manor, an abandoned warehouse that once contained Bethenny’s sense of humility, whichever doctor’s office is keeping Tinsley Mortimer’s eggs on ice, Beautique, the parking garage next to Sonja Tremont Morgan’s UES townhouse, the Brass Monkey, the Brooklyn Bridge, the list goes on and on. And last weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of attending another historic site: Jill Zarin’s Luxury Luncheon.
According to my limited understanding of science — a requirement of any student enrolled at the Housewives Institute — the weather on July 29 in Southampton was precisely 17,000 degrees. I have a condition that precludes me from being a human person when temps exceed 80ish, so my RSVP was truly a death wish. But if you’re going to go out, where else than amongst a dozen or so Bravolebs?
So, off I schlepped to the East End just for the can’t-miss occasion. Organization of the press line was what I would refer to as “loosie goosie,†but I was still able to catch a number of Housewives in the wild. There was Jill herself, looking like a floral princess/prom queen in a dress so lovely that Ramona plans to “borrow†it permanently. (Madame Singer was not in attendance.)
Ladies who (luxury) lunched included Housewives past, present, and if the Lord Andrew Cohen is hearing their prayers, future. Kristen Taekman, Margaret Josephs, and Braunwyn Windham-Burke happily posed at the press line along with Jill and her daughter Ally Shapiro. Windham-Burke told me about her love of 90 Day Fiancé, while hers searched frantically for a lost — later found — phone. I told friend-of Jennifer Fessler what a delight it was to see a Jewish woman on RHONJ hoovering mozzarella with such force one might assume dairy is an anti-anxiety med. (Shalom to my fellow cheesemongers, might I add.) Luann de Lesseps was aglow in a burnt-orange dress and the success of her spinoff, Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake. LeeAnne Locken still exists, so that’s … nice.
Cynthia Bailey was an absolute delight. Because the writer before me asked several questions I was planning to pose, I had to quickly come up with a buffer. As a Jeff Lewis Live “chump†— IYKYK — I’ve been a fan of the Lady of the Lake Bailey’s appearances on the Radio Andy version of Politically Incorrect. A few recent episodes featured Bailey’s thoughts on airplane flatulence. So yes, I asked the multi-hyphenated businesswoman, who just appeared on the most recent RHOA (prayer works!), about travel gas. And, honestly, she was happy to discuss! People say never meet your heroes, but there should be an addendum: unless you want to mention it all about mid-Atlantic troubleshooting. I also asked 56 Cynt about her frenemy NeNe Leakes’s recent critiques against Bravo and whether or not Bethenny should give her a call. Cynthia swiftly — and effectively — pivoted. It should also be noted that Cynthia later took a selfie with Locken, whom she tagged as Jen Fessler on Instagram. I stan.
After the event, I lugged home one of the many (many) gift bags available, which included wares from some of the 75 participating vendors. Inside: a Sephora and Amazon paradise. Items included a Beachwaver rotating curling iron, Drama Queen lash and brow enhancement, caramel-brulée flavored ground coffee from Peet’s, and the children’s book A Real Life Fairy Tale: Princess Diana. (I assume a kiddos’ guide doesn’t end in Paris the way it did for Lady Di.)
While much of the day’s drama was focused on how to handle the heat, it was also a chance to mix and mingle amongst esteemed Bravo alums. And with travel costs to BravoCon reaching epic heights, this was a much more reasonable trip.
Recap Highlights
A selection of the best Vulture’s Bravo Recaps Industrial Complex had to offer this month.
Real Housewives of Atlanta: There was a sex-toy party, the dragging of a girl-on-girl kiss story line, and Cynthia Bailey bags; it’s as if the producers are propping up the skeleton of the old RHOA and giving us a lifeless, redundant version of what once was. [Season 15, Episode 14]
Real Housewives of Orange County: Shannon, on the other hand, is making a meal out of the allegations, and we are eating, we are snacking, we are grubbing, we are saving some for leftovers for lunch tomorrow, we are microwaving, and we are eating them again at our desks while surreptitiously reading reality TV recaps on company time. [Season 17, Episode 10]
Real Housewives of New York City: Finally, there is Jessel, that one college friend you have that you avoid talking to at all costs … She can’t dress. She can’t. Period dot exclamation make a statement without saying a word. [Season 14 Episode 4]
Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake: Sonja offers Mike a Jell-O shot out of the freezer section of her mini-fridge. Why does Sonja have Jell-O shots in her freezer? Where did they come from? How did they get there? And how did they survive whatever length of time it was from her putting them in there until this moment? I can’t imagine a Jell-O shot in Sonja’s possession lasting any longer than a vegan at an all-you-can-eat cheese buffet. [Season 1, Episode 6]
Below Deck Down Under: The following morning, Margot tells Laura about what Luke did, and Laura says, “Was his dick standing?†Imagine that being your first thought? What an awful, awful human being. [Season 2, Episode 7]