“The whole thing’s f***ed up.”
Following allegations that Brandi Glanville repeatedly touched and kissed her Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip co-star Caroline Manzo without Manzo’s consent, The Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel weighed in, saying she feels “badly” for Manzo.
Last month, news broke that both stars had departed early from the Marrakech, Morocco, set of RHUGT Season 4 after Glanville allegedly planted multiple unwanted kisses on Manzo while filming at a house party.
This week, another, more troubling side of the story emerged when it was reported that Glanville had allegedly touched Manzo’s “chest and genital area” as well.
Frankel – who has said in the past that she would “absolutely not” go on RHUGT – shared her take on the shocking allegations in a TikTok posted on Tuesday.
“I feel badly for Caroline,” the Bravo alum said, calling Manzo a “respectable woman who… wants to make a little bit of money.”
“She’s a great Housewife,” Frankel said of Manzo, “and that got taken away from her.”
Bethenny Frankel slams Bravo for ‘capitalizing’ on Housewife drama
The video was shared on Tuesday with Frankel’s 1.2 million TikTok followers.
In it, the Bravo alum also took aim at the Real Housewives blogosphere, pointing out that breathless headlines dissecting the latest drama only fuel more bad behavior.
Frankel claimed that the franchises “celebrate fraud and infidelity and going to jail,” adding that Bravo “really does capitalize on that.”
“That’s what sells,” Frankel continued, “So if you’re talking about that and, you know, ‘OMG’-ing that… that’s why these crazy things happen.”
RHONY alum Bethenny Frankel defends Housewives podcast
Frankel has drawn criticism of her own in the past for her Housewives commentary.
The Skinnygirl mogul starred on RHONY from its debut season, which aired in 2008, through the end of Season 3.
She later returned for Seasons 7 through 11 of the hit Bravo franchise before leaving the series for good.
But after thoroughly “trashing” the Housewives franchises, even labeling them “toxic,” Frankel surprised and annoyed her former co-stars by launching her own Housewives-centric venture, the rewatch podcast ReWives.
And even as Frankel took aim at other Housewives commentators in her recent video, she staunchly defended her right to host herpodcast, insisting that she is both “qualified and entitled to speak on” the Bravo franchises.
“We don’t trash anyone.”
The Real Housewives of New York City is currently on hiatus.