Former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel is disappointed in the direction that the Real Housewives franchise has taken and believes Andy Cohen is to blame, Reality Blurb reports.
Bethenny sat down for an interview with ET Canada during which she revealed that she believes the Real Housewives franchise has gone off the rails. She even compared the most recent seasons to a prison riot.
“There’s a shakeup across Real Housewives,” she told the outlet. “I feel like the inmates are running the asylum. The content of the show is that bad behavior gets rewarded. It’s like the upside-down.”
She then pointed the finger at Bravo host Andy Cohen for allowing and even encouraging the “bad behavior.”
“I’ve said to Andy, to his face, you can’t reward bad behavior. We’re still technically employees,” she explained. “Money drives the whole machine. Any woman who tells you they’re doing the Housewives and it’s not because of the money is lying.”
Many fans would agree with Bethenny’s observations. On the most reason season of her former show RHONY, fans and even Andy himself pointed out that the women drank so excessively that it caused the season to devolve into a series of “déclassé” moments. Many have even asserted that the season was too cringey to watch.
Some of the moments in question include Leah McSweeney throwing lit tiki torches, Sonja Morgan stomping through a glass table and Dorinda Medley making nasty comments about LuAnn de Lessep’s mugshot.
Bethenny Frankel’s History on RHONY
Bethenny was one of RHONY’s OGs, starring on the show for its first three seasons. During her time on the early seasons of the show, she had a major fallout with her former best friend Jill Zarin and ran her business Skinnygirl, which she later sold for $100 million.
She left the show before Season 4 only to return from Seasons 7 through 11. While she was still the woman who wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is, the later seasons showed a more emotionally fragile version of Bethenny.
Bethenny bowed out for good (for now) just before the start of Season 12.
What Bethenny is up to now
Bethenny has proven that she doesn’t need the Real Housewives franchise to thrive. Since departing the show, she started working on her own HBO Max series, The Big Shot with Bethenny, and launched her own podcast, Just B, which has made it to the top of the charts.
Bethenny commented on the success of her podcast during her interview with ET Canada.
“It is big. I didn’t even know there were lists and charts. I’m so pleasantly surprised,” Bethenny said. “It’s like I thought I was going to get a C and I woke up to an A.”
She also has been continuing charity work with her foundation B Strong raising money for COVD-19 PPE.
The Real Housewives of New York City is currently on hiatus on Bravo.
She is right ! Allowing fights jailbirds and the lowlifes ru the shows bulling is praised !
I do agree that Bravo does let the housewives get away with a lot, but it isn’t all Andy’s fault. Bravo does encourage conflict and rewards them when it does happen.