My head was spinning this week with all the updates out of the reality TV world. Is Mercury in retrograde? The good news is that Candiace and Chris had their son, Jett, and I can tell from the back of his head, which, in true Candiace fashion is all she allowed us to see, that he is just so adorable. The great news is that the mid-season trailer for Real Housewives of Salt Lake City dropped and it looks like things are just getting started. Teddi will neither ‘confirm or deny’ the rumours of her affair, which I wrote about here. And the best news of all is that Shannon is eating Alexis alive on set of the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion. As the kids say, let her cook!
Kenya Moore…apologizes
While I had full intentions on writing about Jesus Jugs sauntering onto the set of the reunion for Real Housewives of Orange County, something bigger and rarer happened, which was Kenya Moore’s tearful appearance on the Tamron Hall Show.
As you may recall, back in June, there were rumours that Kenya had been suspended indefinitely from filming the latest season of Real Housewives of Atlanta over allegations that she shared sexually explicit photos of cast newbie, Brittany Eady, at the grand opening of her hair salon, which I wrote about here. Despite initially denying the allegations, Kenya now seems to be taking responsibility.
During her chat with Tamron Hall, she clarifies that she was ‘never fired’, that she is still under contract and employed by Bravo and receives cheques, and that she was ‘never under investigation for revenge porn’.
She describes a confrontation between her and Brittany, who Kenya alleges went as far as ripping off microphones during filming and ‘poking the bear’ and making threats. She said she was very fearful for her safety and went to production, who didn’t take her seriously. She says Brittany repeatedly said ‘You don’t know who I am’.
So naturally, Kenya went to the internet to find out. And what Kenya found were explicit photos and videos, one of which she chose to share during filming.
“I found a lot but I only showed one,” she said with a laugh. “Hindsight is always 50/50,” she said (obviously meaning 20/20). “If I could do it all over again, I believe the photos were very distasteful, and I elevated the situation.”
She goes on to say she takes accountability, that she felt threatened, and said the reason for her escalating the situation was out of protection for her daughter. Cue the tears.
Look, I’m a single mom, too. But what does protecting my daughter have to do with me sharing explicit photos of a nemesis? I’d argue that actually puts you more into the line of fire.
Kenya was also very strategic in her choice to appear on Tamron Hall, because the pair are friends in real life. And I give a lot of credit to Tamron for remaining as impartial as she did and asking the tough questions (that’s the journalist in her), despite their close relationship.
But now the question is why? Why, after months of denying being the bad guy, is she finaly fessing up? Kenya says she’s still receiving cheques - but I think they’re a lot smaller now. And that pinch could be the reason for her mea culpa. It’s also likely that she’s facing a lot of pressure from producers or higher ups at the network to make nice on her previous bad behaviour. If there’s one thing we know about Kenya, it’s that there is no move without motive. And I’m sure we’ll find out exactly what that motive is soon enough.
Speculations stir about Bronwyn Newport’s marriage and husband’s anger
Some fans of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City are raising eyebrows about the dynamic between new fan favourite Bronwyn Newport and her husband, Todd. Despite the obvious assumptions that come along with the pair’s 26-year age gap, the last two episodes, coupled with Bronwyn’s Instagram statement reflecting on the trip, have left fans of the show wondering about the strength and overall health of their marriage.
Over the course of the last two episodes, we’re watching along as Bronwyn and Todd fly the women and their husbands (sans Heather Gay of course, thanks to her messy behaviour, which I wrote about here) out to Palm Springs to celebrate the couple’s 10 year anniversary. As is the case with almost all group trips on Real Housewives, chaos ensues.
The bickering is mostly between Lisa and Bronwyn, though Angie K.’s husband, Shawn, and Meredith kinda sorta get into it at one point. Lisa and Bronwyn are at odds over whether Lisa’s call to Heather while on Bronwyn’s trip was appropriate. And while the guys try to play it cool and keep things calm, things are not, in fact, calm. Todd gave Bronwyn a fair warning before the trip began – he wasn’t in the mood for this crap. At his age, who would be? This was a vacation for him.
Things continued to escalate when, after a tense game at the dinner table, Angie tries to change the subject about Bronwyn’s daughter (who is not Todd's biological child) reconnecting with her biological grandparents, Todd immediately shuts the conversation down, telling the group, “We’re not going there.”
As Bronwyn tries to ease the tension, Todd goes on to say that the conversation is just going to ‘piss him off’ and essentially shuts Bronwyn up. In a later confessional, he said it’s just not a conversation that he’d have at a dinner table, calling the matter a ‘personal’ one between Bronwyn and Gwen.
Meanwhile, in Bronwyn’s confessional about the same incident, she appears too stunned to speak, before finally saying:
“I was worried the ladies were going to embarrass me, it’s Todd that embarrasses me in this moment, as much as I love him. There’s definitely a dynamic around anger and frustration that Todd and I handle very differently.”
When it comes to Todd’s behaviour, fans are divided. Some people agree he’s just standing on business. But other people think that his tone is…a bit harsh. As for me and my opinionated ass – I don’t care how much money you’re making or how many millions the necklace you bought me for our 10th anniversary is (it was 4, by the way, it was a $4 million necklace), you do not silence me. Not when we’re alone, not when we’re in front of people and damn well not on national television. Angry old man. Pft.
Real Housewives of New York cast digs themselves deeper with nonsense lie
This week, Real Housewives of New York reboot haters are feeling pretty vindicated after members of the cast became embroiled in what will likely go down as one of the worst storylines ever.
In an attempt to prove the group gossips too much, Erin and Rebecca come up with a salacious lie. They decide Erin is going to plant a rumour about Rebecca being a swinger and carrying another man’s child. Naturally, word gets around and Rebecca stages a dramatic walkout. When Erin joins her, the two laud each other’s acting skills.
I, personally, never feel like a loser watching reality TV. But I sure as hell felt like a loser realizing that the hour I invested in being up to date on this franchise was really spent watching grown women stage a fake pregnancy rumour. (By the way, this is how you do a prank.)
In recent weeks, the cast has been under a microscope for not living up to the entertainment the OGs provided us. And as messy, chaotic and intoxicated as that clusterf-ck of a cast may have been, you could never say their stuff was scripted.
What’s pissing me off is that the material is there. Brynn is a clueless, flirty, privileged primadonna. Sai 2.0 is actually quite enjoyable this season. Erin is going through marital issues. Jessel wants another baby but her husband is being an influencer. Jenna is a hot mysterious lesbian. Racquel is a Black lesbian in the art space. And Rebecca is a Jewish Scientologist, FFS! If they can’t turn that into something, just cancel the damn show.
