Love Hotel has yet to premiere, but it’s already been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Real Housewives spinoff features Shannon Beador, Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, and Luann de Lesseps, who recently wrapped up their filming after three weeks and was thrust into the headlines in the aftermath.
Joel Kim Booster, the spinoff’s host, shared a series of online messages in which he called Shannon “a pathetic drunk” for treating people poorly on the show.
He went one step further by bringing up Shannon’s ex-boyfriend, adding, “I can’t imagine what John Janssen went through.“
Of course, Shannon’s storyline on The Real Housewives of Orange County this season has been dominated by her legal drama with John, so many unhappy fans spoke out after Joel mentioned her ex.
Now that filming has wrapped, Ashley is promoting the upcoming return of The Real Housewives of Potomac and was asked in an interview about Joel’s outburst about Shannon.
Ashley expresses shock over Joel Kim Booster dragging Shannon
The RHOP OG revealed that she and the rest of the cast were “shocked” about the whole thing because it came out the day they left Mexico to return to the U.S.
“So, that caught everybody completely by surprise. And out of respect for Shannon, who, we’re very communicative, all of us. Luann, Gizelle, Shannon, and myself are very communicative about how to handle this,” she added.
“We want to be really sensitive to Shannon.”
It sounds like Ashley is Team Shannon in this situation, and she’s still trying to comprehend what happened.
“Just to say that it was quite shocking. Very shocking. And Joel, I gave him props. He did a great job on the show, as you’ll see. But that was quite surprising. Caught all of us completely out of left field.”
Shannon has yet to respond to the drama and may not until the series airs in 2025.
We need more Real Housewives spinoffs
Details about the show are scarce aside from the fact that we have four legendary Real Housewives searching for love.
Surprisingly, we’ve waited this long for a show with our favorite Bravolebrities. Still, we hope the off-screen drama doesn’t overshadow what could be a great format and an excellent next chapter for The Real Housewives.
We’ve already seemingly lost The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, so it’s time we got some new shows set in that universe.
There’s a rich tapestry of cast members to choose from.
Ashley is poised to be the center of the drama during RHOP Season 9, the show’s first without Robyn Dixon.
The Real Housewives of Potomac airs on Bravo on Sundays at 8/7c. You can Stream Seasons 1-8 on Peacock.